Return to Me
by paulacole
Summary: Set ten years after Stargate. Jack's dead and Samantha's married to a womanizing jerk. She catches up with Daniel, and sparks fly, but of course things don't go smoothly.
1. Default Chapter

Chapter One 

She hadn't meant to push Daniel away. Things had been crazy after Jack's death and they moved their relationship too soon until it was obvious it was a horrible mistake. She had pushed him away, he had backed off, they hadn't spoken a word until the night before her wedding, and even then, Colonel Samantha Carter remembered wryly, there hadn't been much _talking_.

But then, even when she had been deeply committed to Jack, she had never denied that she and Daniel had some pretty powerful chemistry.

_Not that it mattered when you were with Jack, and not that it should matter now_, Samantha reminded herself. She had been married for ten years now, had never been unfaithful, and she wasn't about the start now.

But there was something about being face to face with Daniel that made her shiver with anticipation.

She hadn't mentioned Daniel to her husband of course. John wasn't exactly the most open-minded guy when it came to his wife being attracted to other women. Not that he held himself to the same standards, of course, but he would be furious to know she was on her way to see an old flame.

Not that she was seeing his for personal reasons. He was in Washington DC to petition the government for grant money. These days, he spent most of his time in Egypt on digs. Having left the archaeological community in disgrace twenty years ago, he was now its wonder boy, in part for his innate ability to locate dig after dig of historical importance.

Samantha couldn't help but smile at that memory. You could hardly blame Daniel for utilising all the stuff he'd learned about ancient civilisations through his work on the Stargate program. And of course it didn't hurt having an former colleague (and lover) high up in the government who knew the same ultra-classified stuff you did – and who knew that every dollar Daniel asked for was merited.

It hadn't taken long for John to work out she approved of Daniel's budgets with barely a second glance. " We worked together once, I know what he's doing deserves the funding, " was all she said. It irritated John that she wouldn't tell him exactly what she and Daniel had worked on together. So what if it was classified, he was her _husband_. John and grown up believing it was a husband's right to know everything about his wife. Besides, he had presidential aspirations, shouldn't he know about stuff like whatever it was Samantha had worked on?

But she remained adamant. People like Senator John Richmond were exactly the kind of people you _didn't_ want knowing about the Stargate Program – they were the ones who thought the sole purpose of such a program was to come back with weapons to blow back to the stoneage Russia, Iraq or whoever was their enemy of any given day. God, how she and Daniel had hated such people when they were part of the program. Sometimes Samantha couldn't remember why she'd dated John in the first place.

Oh, yeah. Because Jack was dead and Daniel wasn't talking to her.

To be fair, John could be incredible charismatic when he wanted to be. He wanted to be president someday, and he was a regular Jack Kennedy or Bill Clinton – the fawning press always said so. Young and charismatic with stylish, successful wives. The hidden appropriateness of such comparisons was not lost. John had some pretty broad definitions of infidelity. But only when it came to men, of course. When it came to women, he hankered for the days when women were expected to enter marriage as virgins so a man had the privilege of knowing he was her Only One.

Sometimes Samantha didn't know why she stayed married to John.

Oh, yeah. Their son, Jacob.

John had wanted him named John Jr. Samantha hated the name. She had never understood why men felt the urge to name their sons after themselves – like they were so perfect that there had to be another of them to carry on their legacy. She had wanted to name her son after her father, and it was the one thing she had stood firm on in their marriage.

She'd let it go when he demanded she sign a ridiculous pre-nuptial agreement, the gist of it being that his family fortune was his and no matter what Samantha might do to help with his career or family, or if the deterioration of their marriage was due to say, a discrete little fling (read: compulsive womanising) it was his money and she had no claim to it. The principle of their money staying their money hadn't bothered Samantha (actually, it had secretly amused her that she had plenty stashed away in secret bank accounts and had no need for his money) but it had annoyed her just the same, the pompous way he had gone about it.

She'd let it go when he demanded she stop working at NASA building spaceships with the application of her knowledge of Goa'uld and Asgaurd technology. He'd said it was because he wanted her to be a stay-at-home-mom but he hadn't objected when she accepted the rather boring job of budget approval in the current government administration. It had been quite convenient to have a wife who knew where the country's money went. It was obvious what he really objected to having a wife who's job commanded more respect then his did.

She'd let it go when she first caught John screwing around. She let herself believe him when he said it was one little slip up.

She let it go when she caught him screwing around the second time. And the third, and the fourth, and the fifth.

She wasn't sure where exactly her sense of self deteriorated to a point that she let it go the first time he beat her. And it all went downhill from there.

But there was her son to think about. Funny how she always thought of Jacob as _her _son – he looked so much like her, something John had always griped about. " It's not right for a man's first born to not look like him, " he'd often complained, as if that were Samantha's fault.

Of course, she'd never looked beyond the most obvious reason Jacob didn't look like John – that he'd gotten his fair features from his mother. She never allowed herself to think about it.

Not until Jacob had been in a car accident (John had been drink-driving, it had taken a _lot_ of bribes to cover that one up) and the Doctor had confronted Samantha about an anomaly in Jacob's bloodwork had Samantha dared to think about it. And after that she'd done her damnedest to forget it.

If she thought about it, then she'd have to think about the ten years she'd wasted with John.

Besides, being the wife of Senator John Richmond wasn't all bad. He _was_ fabulously rich, and had a lot of connection to important people.

Oh, who was she kidding. Being the wife of Senator John Richmond bored her out of her brain.

So when she thought about it, Samantha really had no idea why she stayed. She only knew she must have changed a lot to have stayed. Colonel Samantha Carter of SG-1 would never have stayed.

The woman who had been loved by Colonel Jack O'Neill and Doctor Daniel Jackson would never have stayed.

But Jack was dead, and Daniel spent most of his time in Egypt these days. Samantha kept a secret shoebox of newspaper clippings. He'd built up quite a name for himself. It had always amused her to hear the media muse about his magic touch. _If only they knew_, she'd often thought ruefully. Maybe she'd out his 'magic touch' on her deathbed.

It was kind of funny when she thought about it, that for all the dedication she'd taken to following Daniel's career she hadn't seen him in ten years. She'd wanted to patch things up with him but by the time she'd worked up the nerve he'd left the country. She'd received a note from him a few months after that : _we all deal with loss in our own way_.

She'd dealt with Jack's loss by marrying John, he'd dealt with it by going to Egypt.

But deep down, Samantha knew Jack wasn't the only loss Daniel had dealt with.

She'd treated him badly, she knew. She'd been too proud when he'd said they needed some time apart, taken that to be a catagoric rejection. _She'd called Jack's name while Daniel was making love to her_. No wonder he thought they needed some time apart. What man wanted to compete with a ghost?

But she'd been too proud to see that, and gone about rejecting Daniel before he could reject her. John had been an easy distraction. Good-looking, charismatic, the would-be Senator had seen in Colonel Carter the perfect First Lady.

And it would increase his feminist vote tenfold to have a retired Colonel as his wife. And increase his family vote tenfold to have a retired Colonel declare that being barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen was her true calling.

Not that she spent much time barefoot and pregnant, to John's chagrin. Things had started off well, with Jacob being conceived on their wedding night (he'd made Samantha relinquish all forms of birth control a month before their wedding, so her body had the opportunity to return to its natural hormones) and a second child being conceived a year after Jacob's birth. But she'd miscarried at four months and never conceived again.

A dozen well-respected doctors all said there was no physical reason for Samantha not being able to conceive. And the half a dozen bastard children John had scattered across the countryside was testimony to _his_ virility. Perhaps the problem was emotional? That had particularly irked John. He held Samantha personally responsible for their lack of many children.

At least she'd had the good sense to have their firstborn a by. Although John regretted that he looked so much like his mother. Not that he wasn't a handsome young man, but still, a man's heir should look like him. More then anything John wanted a second son, one that looked like him. Except it didn't look like that was going to happen soon.

Oh well. President Clinton only had one child, and he didn't even have the good fortune to have a son to carry on his name.

At the moment, John was in New York, his constituency. _More like visiting one of his mistresses_, Samantha thought bitterly. John had such double standards when it came to fidelity. Not that there had been many men in the last ten years that had really interested her. In fact, there had only been two men that really made her heart race.

Colonel Jack O'Neill, United States Airforce. Killed in Action on a planet in another galaxy while trying to save not only Earth but the entire Universe from the Goa'uld threat. Samantha hadn't been with him on that mission, she had been transferred from SG-1 into SG-5 at that point. Given how many serious regulations they were breaking by being together, separate teams was the best possible outcomes. It could have ruined both their careers.

But they had loved each other and for that kind of love you didn't think about your career.

She had been devastated when she'd heard of Jack's death. She'd regretted their relationship, rationalising that if she'd been there with him, she could have saved him – or died with him. Either would have been better alternatives then life without him.

Doctor Daniel Jackson, PhD in Egyptology and Ancient History. He'd been there for her after Jack had died and her life had fallen apart. At one point, he'd sat with her and made sure she ate three square meals a day. He'd always been her best friend, but in the months following Jack's death they'd become closer and closer until the depth of their relationship was obvious to everyone but themselves.

One night they'd sat up long after everyone else had gone to bed, talking about everything and nothing the way they always did. He'd leaned over and kissed her. It had been surprising and expected at the same time. It had felt so insanely natural. He'd paused for a few seconds, giving her the opportunity to break away.

Instead, she'd kissed him back and it hadn't taken long for sweet kisses to become passionate kisses – it had felt so natural, the love and chemistry they had together. Before too long they'd been in bed together… and she'd called out Jack's name.

The memory was as clear to Samantha as if it had happened yesterday. It was clearer then most of the memories Samantha had of her marriage. Daniel had stopped dead, which Samantha had always marvelled at. It must _hurt_ for men to stop in the middle of sex like that. Or at least be painfully frustrating.

But then, Daniel was the type of man who would take frustrating over being mistaken for a dead man.

Samantha felt tears prick her eyes and she angrily wiped them away. _Get a hold of yourself, Carter_, she ordered herself. She always called herself Carter, despite a decade of being addressed as Mrs. Richmond. _You can't present yourself as a teary wreck in front of Daniel_. But the closer she got to Daniel, the clearer the memories became.

Daniel hadn't wanted to compete with Jack for Samantha. He'd told her they needed some distance, that they should be friends for a little while longer. She'd taken that to mean he didn't want her and had pushed him away. Soon, he had stopped trying to be her friend, and they had become barely civil colleagues.

Then she had met John, and he had seemed like a dream come true. Their courtship had been brief, their engagement announced in the papers three months after their first date.

The first Daniel had heard of it was in the papers. It had broken his heart.

The night before her wedding, he'd hit the bottle, planning to drink himself into oblivion and wake up the day _after_ the wedding. Instead, he'd ended up at Samantha's apartment at two in the morning to declare his love for her…

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_Samantha hadn't known what to expect when she'd opened the door at two in the morning, but she definitely hadn't been expecting Daniel. They had barely spoken since their abortive attempt at sex months ago. He hadn't even congratulated her on her impeding marriage, not even the barely civil congratulations that she had expected from him. Daniel knew what nobody did about her fairytale relationship with John Richmond – that she didn't love him, that she was just marrying him because he doted on her and he was there, that her heart belonged to Daniel Jackson…_

" _Daniel, " she said weakly. " I think you should go home. " He stunk of alcohol and he had a wild look in his eyes that should have frightened Samantha – but it didn't. _

_Instead of leaving, Daniel barged into the apartment. " Hey! " she said indignantly. " You have no right to be here! "_

_He swung around angrily. " _You're_ marrying someone you don't love and _I_ have no right to be here? " he demanded. _

_She hated the way he said it. She especially hated it because he was right. " You didn't want me, Daniel. I moved on. "_

" _Like hell I didn't want you! I just didn't want you think about Jack while I was making love to you! "_

" _It doesn't matter, Daniel. I'm getting married tomorrow. It's too late. "_

_He closed the gap between them, and while she should have been frightened to have a drunk, angry man so close to her she wasn't. She was swept up in the closeness of his presence. She hadn't been this close to Daniel in months. She hadn't felt this thrill since he'd first kissed her… _

" _Like hell it's too late, " he muttered, and his lips came crashing down on hers forcefully. He was drunk, but he was still agile, and one arm snaked around her back to pin her wrists together and hold her against him as the other supported her head._

_Despite herself, Samantha found herself kissing him back. John never kissed her like this. Not even Jack had kissed her like this. She groaned with animal passion, and the realised what she had done. _

" _Daniel, we can't, " she insisted. She fought against him but he was too strong for her. And it was hard to fight Daniel and herself at the same time. " Please, stop, " she begged, her mouth saying one thing and her body saying another. _

" _You don't sound too convincing, " Daniel said. " Or is this just another case of you not knowing what you want? "_

_The truth had hurt. It hadn't mattered to Daniel. " I swear to you, Sam, I don't care if you're stupid enough to marry this asshole tomorrow. But tonight, I will be the only one you want. "_

_He had ripped her clothes off and taken her on her kitchen table. And then in the shower. And then in her bed. He had made her climax over and over, violently, passionately, until she was physically exhausted. He had made her call out his name, told him she loved him, until she was emotionally exhausted. He had possessed her to every depth of her soul, until there was no way she could know herself and not know that she loved Daniel Jackson with every fibre of her being. It was why these days Samantha preferred not to analyse herself to much. _

_In the morning, the dawn of her wedding, he was gone. Samantha supposed he had wanted her to make the choice – him or John. But at the time it had seemed like he had abandoned her. So she'd chosen John. Or at least, she'd gone through with the wedding. On the very rare moments she chose to plumb to the depths of her soul, she had to admit that John had never been part of the equation._

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_Stop it, Carter. Stop it stop it stop it_. Samantha stood in the foyer of her office building for a minute to collect herself. _OK, you can do this_, she told herself after a minute. _It's just Daniel. _Bracing herself, she took the elevator up to her office.

… Where Daniel had already made himself comfortable. " Hi, " he said, his blue eyes twinkling. The last ten years had been kind to him. He was a fit as ever, and obviously had gotten a tan from all that digging in Egypt. And his eyes …

Samantha swallowed hard. " How did you get in here? " she demanded a little too harshly.

Daniel was a little taken aback. " You're secretary let me in, " he said. " I was telling her about our history – well, as much as I could without spilling state secrets – and I guess she figured I was hardly a security risk. "

For a moment Samantha stared at him, processing the words _I was telling her about our history_. Terror swamped her body. " Hey, don't look like you've seen a ghost. I don't mean _that_ history, " Daniel reassured her.

Samantha visibly relaxed, and she felt all of six inches tall. Of _course_ Daniel wouldn't go blabbing about that particular chapter of their history. He had too much integrity.

Which was more then she could say for her husband.

" I'm sorry, " she said. " I'm just a bit stressed out. "

_Because you're husband's in New York with one of his many mistresses? _Daniel wanted to asked. He knew better. Men like Senator Richmond were the reason Daniel preferred to stay in Egypt and only deal with politicians when he absolutely had to. But Richmond particularly annoyed him. Womanising politicians were a dime a dozen, but Richmond made it personal.

Richmond was screwing around on the only woman Daniel really cared about. It infuriated him, that Richmond couldn't see what he had and that Samantha was too blind to see what he was doing.

He had tried to forget Samantha. She had made it clear when she married him she didn't care for Daniel the way he cared about her. He hadn't been exactly celibate, but nothing lasting. No-one could challenge him the way Samantha could, no-one made him feel as calm as Samantha had.

No-one had excited him sexually the way Samantha had. There were still nights when he lay awake, thinking about their one night of passion. He had left before she woke up because he didn't think he could deal with the rejection, if she chose to carry on with the wedding. And he'd been right.

So he'd moved to Egypt, becoming archaeology's wonder boy, and more or less moved on with his life. Except for the times Samantha drifted into his thoughts.

He kept a shoebox full of clipping about her. He discarded the ones about her husband. He was happy she was still working, he knew Samantha would go crazy as a stay-at-home-mother. But he knew she couldn't be as stimulated as she had been working on the Stargate program. Now _that_ had been cutting edge.

But he sort of understood that without the four of them, it just wasn't the same.

It was funny how her relationship with Jack didn't bother him, and hadn't for a while. She had loved him, sure, but she had loved Daniel too. He realised now he should have given her more time before making the first move.

But it was too late for regrets. She was married, he had a different life now. He was only meeting her to discuss a grant.

He supposed he could have done that from Egypt, what with all the technology of modern day, but there was a part of him which had wanted to see Samantha.

She looked well. She was dressed in the most fashionable clothes money could buy, and the same went for her hair and makeup. An expensive gold band glistened from her ring finger. Daniel's heart wrenched when he saw that.

… But for all her obvious affluence, there was something not there about Samantha. She wasn't as lively as she used to be. She wasn't the same anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better 2IC that had often driven him and Jack up the wall. She had made him want to tear his hair out sometimes, but God, what he wouldn't give to have that Samantha back.

Without thinking of the professional level of their current relationship, but rather the intimacy – physical and emotional – that they'd once shared – he blurted out, " Sam, are you OK? "

Samantha was taken aback by the concern in his voice – and touched. She couldn't remember being spoken to in such a way in years. But this was _Daniel_, she reminded herself harshly. The last thing she needed was to get involved with Daniel on anything more then a professional level.

She smiled tightly. " I'm fine, Dr. Jackson, " she said coolly.

Her words had the desired affect ; he was suitably chastised for his familiarity. Her heart ached and her conscience pricked. She was more aware then ever how void her life had been of anything resembling a true friend since marrying John – that was politics for you. She was more aware of her how empty her life was without Daniel.

She sighed. " Daniel, I'm sorry, " she said guiltily.

He shrugged. " I was too familiar, I get it, " he said. He physically backed away, turning his head so she couldn't read the emotion in his face.

Reason telling her it was best to leave things be, Samantha went with her instincts and closed the distance between her and Daniel, touching his softly on his cheek.

He wrenched away violently as if Samantha had burned him. " Don't touch me, " he said frostily.

His words stung. " I was only trying to be your friend, " she said.

He looked at her incredulously. " You think we could be _friends_ after all that's happened? " he asked.

Samantha couldn't resist getting on the defensive even though she knew she should remain professional. " Oh, you mean the way you came to my apartment _drunk_ the night before my wedding and – and – _forced_ yourself on me? "

" Oh, because you _really_ acted like it was _such_ an imposition, " Daniel responded sarcastically. " Richmond must really be something in bed when if you managed to forget that little detail. That is, when he's in _your_ bed. " It was below the belt, Daniel knew, but he couldn't resist pointing out the flaws in her marriage.

_He _would never cheat on her. But she hadn't given him the chance.

Samantha's anger flared. How _dare_ he bring that up! Despite herself, she briefly thought – _knew_ – that Daniel would never cheat on her. But she hadn't given him that chance, and now she had to stand my her choice. " My marriage is none of your business, " she hissed.

" You mean, as opposed to half the women in this city that your husband's sleeping with? " Daniel clarified hotly. He didn't know why he was getting in this argument with her. Samantha could marry whoever the hell she wanted – and if she was a fool enough to want a man who was constantly screwing around, well, he wasn't her keeper.

But he wished he was her husband.

Samantha raised her hand to slap him. He caught it, and twisted it around her back, capturing her free hand and pinning both of them behind her back. Once upon a time she could have easily broken his hold – it had driven him nuts that her military training had made her fitter, stronger and more agile then him – but ten years of picking up nothing heavier then her son (and he was beginning to resent that) had seen her physical ability deteriorate to that of – well, a _housewife_. Ugh, she hated the word. Especially since she felt she was little better then one.

Daniel snaked one arm around Samantha's back, forcing her against him, her chest pressed against his. His hold was tight, possessive, but she didn't feel threatened. She felt wanted… and loved. She dimly thought she had been wrong to accuse Daniel of forcing himself onto her. The only thing Daniel Jackson had ever forced her to do was face up to herself. She closed to eyes and she was transported to happier days when Daniel had been her best friend, and could have been her lover and soul mate…

She realised how close she was to breaking her marriage vows. " Daniel, please, " she begged, no real conviction in her voice.

He touched her face gently and sparks passed between them. She couldn't remember such an intimate touch – since Daniel had last touched her. She shivered involuntarily, and not because she was cold or afraid.

" I would never fool around on you, " he whispered hoarsely, and kissed her as gently as he could.

Samantha whimpered when Daniel kissed her, knowing it was wrong… and knowing nothing had ever felt so right. " Daniel… " she whispered hoarsely. She knew she should fight this but she was suddenly very tired of John's playing around, his cruelty. And being in Daniel's arms felt so right…

She kissed him back.

Daniel's hands roamed her back freely as their kiss deepened. She winced slightly to feel the pressure on her healing back from John's last assault but soon forgot about the pain, lost in their embrace.

Their kisses became hungrier, more passionate. They had been apart for ten years and had a lot to catch up on. " Sam, Sam, " Daniel grunted as his mouth planted kiss across her face and neck. He lifted her by her hips onto her desk. He pushed her skirt up to her thighs and she wrapped her legs around his waist tightly, possessively. She could feel he was getting hard and it excited her.

" Daniel… " she moaned softly as his hands wandered her body. Her name sounded so good on her tongue. His hand felt so good on her body. " Daniel… _Daniel_, " he voice suddenly became hard and urgent as she heard footsteps in the hall. " Daniel, stop. There's someone coming. "

With a reluctant groan, Daniel separated himself from Samantha and pulled her into a standing position. Hurriedly, they straightened themselves up as best they could – as Senator John Richmond walked into his wife's office, a disapproving look on his face.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two 

Senator John Richmond scrutinised the scene he'd walked in on and was none too happy with his conclusions. His wife's skirt was crumpled and there was lipstick on Doctor Jackson's cheek. While Richmond didn't hold fidelity to be a high virtue in himself, he expected it in his wife. That was just the way things were. And she was looking very guilty right now. Her, and her long-time friend and colleague who John didn't recall being told was so good-looking. Something his wife deliberately didn't mention, most likely.

Beside him, Daniel could feel Samantha trembling. She was _frightened_. Previously he'd thought her self esteem was low from his womanising, which was a bad enough problem in itself, but to look at her now – he swallowed, feeling afraid for her. John Richmond was looking amicable enough, but Daniel had met enough politicians to know they could put on a good show.

His instinct was to draw Samantha close to him, to put himself between her and her husband. He knew that would only make things worse, so he restrained himself. " You must be Senator Richmond, " Daniel said as evenly as he could. Was he imagining things, or did he sound guilty?

_He sounds guilty_, Richmond thought. And so he should be, playing around with another man's wife. Richmond conveniently forgot all the wives _he'd_ played around with – neglected housewives were always so grateful, they'd do anything. But that wasn't the point. Samantha Richmond was off limits.

" And you must be… I'm sorry, I forgot your name, " Richmond said smugly, reminded Daniel of the ladder of importance in Washington. Daniel might be wonder boy in the archaeology community, in Washington he was next to nobody, a minor celebrity, no-one important.

" Doctor Daniel Jackson, " Daniel said, stepping forward to offer hid hand.

Richmond didn't take it. " A doctor? " he asked. " I thought you dug stuff up. "

Daniel's cheeks flushed with anger. There were two things that really pissed him off about outsider's assumptions of his profession, and Richmond had just hit on them both. One was the assumption that he 'dug things up' like a kid in a sandpit, and the other was that an honorary doctorate wasn't the same as being a real doctor. It took a hell of a lot of work to get a doctorate, medical or not. " I have doctorates in Ancient Languages and Egyptology, " he said stiffly.

Beside him, Samantha cringed. She knew exactly what her husband was doing – he had done it to her plenty of times. He was condescending Daniel in a way that was brutal yet difficult to strike back from.

Richmond gave a condescending smile. " So you're not a real doctor, then? " he said.

" Not in the sense that I don't practise medicine, " Daniel said, even stiffer then before. It was a common enough assumption that people made in ignorance, but Richmond was seriously pushing his buttons. What had Samantha ever seen in him?

Richmond didn't say anything, but he stepped back from Daniel, satisfied he'd put the man in his place. " Samantha, " he said, his voice soft but commanding. " I finished up in New York early and I thought I'd drop by and see how things were going. " He made a slight gesture that Samantha knew meant he wanted her at his side – not Daniel's.

Daniel's thoughts were so strong she could almost hear them : _Stay. You don't have to leave with him. I'll take care of you_. But she couldn't throw in her life with John – and Jacob – because of a little chemistry she shared with an old lover.

Resolutely, she stepped to her husband's side. His arm snaked possessively around her, pressing painfully against the marks on her back his belt had left three days ago. He felt her flinch, and smiled to himself. She would get what she deserved for this little indiscretion.

" I see no reason to waste any more time here, " Richmond said haughtily, making it clear he considered Daniel miles beneath him. " Let's go home, Samantha. " It was an order, not a suggestion.

" It was good to see you again, Sam, " Daniel said, making direct eye contact with Samantha. She was visibly scared and his heart broke. But what could he do for her? She wouldn't leave him. " If you need anything – " he started.

" I'm sure I can provide it, " Richmond finished coolly. " I am, after all, her _husband_. I think I rank a little higher then an archaeologist. " And with that, he steered Samantha out the door, leaving Daniel to rage at the injustice of the situation.

He wondered how much Richmond had seen and chastised himself for not insisting Samantha stayed. He should have made up an excuse for needing her alone. _Like what? Like he was going to let her leave his side, possessive bastard. _What was good for the gander was obviously wasn't good for the goose.

_Sam, I'm sorry_, he mentally addressed her. _I'm sorry I started anything, I'm sorry I couldn't help you. _He hoped John would go easy on her. It wasn't her fault. He should have just kept his hands to himself. Hadn't she made her decision clear?

Trying to forget what had just transpired, Daniel left the office, left the building, planning to stay in the States for as little as possible. There was nothing here for him now – except Samantha, and she had made her decision, loud and clear. He wished there was more he could do to help her, but he couldn't. He only hoped she knew if she wanted him at all, even if just as a friend, she only had to find him. He would always be there for her – but she had to make that decision for herself.

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" You _slut_, you _fucking whore_, " Richmond screamed at his helpless wife. " I leave you alone for a few days come back to find you whoring around! "

" John… _please_… " Samantha begged. Her plea was cut off by a scream when her husband's belt hit her back, aggravating the healing wounds that were there from his previous assault. " Please don't do this. "

" Do what? " Richmond screamed, his face red with fury. " You _humiliated _me, Samantha. Do you know what could have happened if someone else had caught you? It could have made the papers – Senator's Wife Screwing Around. "

_As opposed to the Senator screwing around_, Samantha thought. She didn't dare voice her thoughts.

" We didn't do anything, " Samantha whimpered, regretting those few stolen moments with Daniel. In his arms, everything had been perfect. But there was a price for everything, and this was it.

" Only because I came along, " Richmond challenged. Samantha didn't say anything. It was true. If John hadn't come along she would have let Daniel take her on her desk – and she would have loved every minute of it. Even now, she felt a tingle through her body at the memory of Daniel's touch.

Richmond seemed to sense his wife's thoughts were with another man, and he brought his belt down harshly, making her scream again. _Good, _he thought maliciously. _That will teach her to behave like my wife_. It was a constantly source of irritation to Richmond that Samantha didn't act like the proper wife – she wasn't a terrific cook, she wasn't effortless graceful in an evening gown, and apart from Jacob, she hadn't born him any children.

Thinking resentfully about his only child, Richmond took great satisfaction in bringing down his belt again with great force. It was only a pity he couldn't divorce her, but that would look bad. He lashed his belt again.

Samantha wasn't screaming any more, only crying. He enjoyed breaking her ; she was too strong-willed. She needed to act more like a woman.

A few extra lashes of his belt, and Richmond discarded the object. He pulled Samantha to her feet and flung her against the wall. She collapsed. He lifted her up and slapped her heart, then punched her. He usually didn't mar her lovely face – that part of her body was so much harder to hide then her back and legs – but now she had really invoked his fury. _Play around on him. No woman played around on him. _He didn't take it from his mistresses, why should he take it from his wife?

A few minutes later, he looked at his wife's bruised, bleeding face with some degree of satisfaction. No man would look at her twice now.

He threw her on the bed and took great delight in her whimpers of protest. She knew what was coming. She knew he was going to prove he was her husband.

She no longer fought him, which John was pleased and a little disappointed by. It had been a challenge to hold her down while he had his way with her, but then, he did like to defeat his enemy. And when his wife held out on him, she was the enemy.

She shuddered when Richmond penetrated her. She was bone dry, and it created a lot of resistance. Richmond quite enjoyed the sensation. It made her feel tight, like a virgin. He wondered how many men his wife had been with, and thrust deeply – eliciting a groan of pain from her – enjoying the feeling of conquering his wife. She would never look twice at another man again.

When he was finished, he left without saying anything. He had nothing to say to her. He hoped he had learned her lesson. He smiled contemptuously to herself. No man would look at her twice now. Certainly not that pretty boy archaeologist of hers. Certainly not _him_. Richmond thought about his pretty young mistress in New York. He'd go back there to see her. She was certainly more exciting in bed then Samantha was.

Samantha had proven to be quite the disappointment. When he'd married her, he'd expected her to be a fertile wife, provide him with lots of sons to carry on his name. Just having Jacob didn't sit well with him, especially since he looked so much like Samantha.

And she'd proven to be a bad wife too. She didn't know how to network, didn't know how to be feminine. Al that military training had ruined her. Richmond had always thought women in the military was a bad idea. Samantha was proof of that.

Of course, divorce wasn't an option. The Richmonds didn't divorce, his parents and brother would be scandalised. Pity…

After John had left, Samantha sobbed hard for an hour. John had beaten her and raped her before, but never as brutally as this. And he had never touched her face – he knew the value of having a wife who appeared to be happy. Wife-beating didn't go down well in public circles.

Obviously, his feelings about her value to him were changing for the worse.

After an hour, Samantha got up and looked at herself in the mirror. She could barely see out of both eyes, but what she could see wasn't pretty. Her face was swollen and bruised hideously. Her lip was split in two places. She touched her face gingerly. Nothing seemed to be broken, just badly shaken up. She started to cry again. She looked awful. John had really had it in for her.

Obviously, he didn't anticipate needing her in the next few weeks. Samantha didn't know weather to be relieved or not.

Over and over a thought came back to her – John had never treated her so brutally before, and he hadn't never left wounds that couldn't be hidden by clothes. Obviously, he felt he didn't need her anymore. Maybe he felt he'd be better off with a younger, more fertile wife…

But the Richmonds didn't believe in divorce. Like Katherine of Aragon, he was stuck with her.

Or things would just escalate until he killed her.

Samantha's blood ran cold at the thought. But she knew John was capable of it. She knew things could quite easily get worse and worse until one day the blows were just too much. Hadn't things already progressed from a happy marriage to one full of infidelity to one where the only time her husband touched her was when he was beating her or raping her?

John Richmond could quite easily kill her, weather by accident or deliberately. And Samantha wouldn't put it past him to kill her if he was desperate.

Samantha thought about who she could go to. Not her family – her father, Jacob, had been dead for years, since before her marriage. Her brother Mark she was barely on speaking terms with. He wouldn't appreciate having this foistered on him.

John's family – an even worse idea. His brother, Peter, was almost as cruel and Chauvinistic as John was. And his mother, Adele, lived in a constant state of denial. The Richmonds were Old Money and they didn't Divorce. Adele was quite capable of seeing her daughter-in-law's battered face and see it as a clear, happy face.

Her friends – what friends? The true friends she'd had from her Stargate Command days had long since drifted away, unable to tolerate the pretensions of politics. And she had never bothered to make friends in the political scene. She found the wives of politicians airheaded and pretentious, and the female politicians as ruthless as their male counterparts. Much to John's chagrin, she had never networked in the way he had wanted her to. No, friends were out.

A woman's shelter? John would find her wherever she went, and kill her for bringing scandal to the Richmond name. In fact, anywhere she went in the United States John would find her. He had contacts everywhere. He would never let her leave, especially with their son.

_Their son… _Something that had remained at the back of Samantha's mind. Something she had constantly pushed to the back of her consciousness, but was coming to the forefront in full force.

Five years ago, when Jacob had been four, John had taken him to a family do to show off his strapping young son, even one that looked like a Carter. He had gotten thoroughly drunk, and crashed into a tree on the way home. The passenger's seat had taken the brunt of the crash, so while John had walked away with barely a scratch, Jacob had been in critical condition and needed a massive blood transfusion.

She and John were both AB blood types, so it stood to reason that Jacob should have been AB too. Samantha had told herself that for four years, put it on all his medical forms along with her and John's blood types, and convinced herself that it was true.

Until a doctor had corned her, rather embarrassed, and said there had been a mistake. Jacob was AO.

Until that moment Samantha was unaware of her acting abilities. She had given the doctor a puzzled smile and explained the mistake was that she was AO. Perhaps there had been a mistake with the family physician who had declared Jacob to be AB, but if he was AO, he had gotten it from his mother. The doctor had seemed satisfied with this answer, and left it at that.

Samantha Carter was AB. John Richmond was AB. There was no way they could have a son who was _not_ AB.

Except Daniel Jackson, in keeping with his various health problems, was OO. She remembered Janet joking that it was typical of Daniel to have a blood type that could only receive from itself.

For Jacob to have a blood type of AO, he had to have a parent who had an A blood type, and a parent who had an O blood type.

The cold, scientific fact had made Samantha cold with fear. Statistically, it was highly probably that John was Jacob's father. She'd spent one night with Daniel and many nights with John. John _had_ to be Jacob's father.

She'd done her best to push the episode from her mind, and mostly succeeded. But now, in her moment of desperation, it was coming back to her, reminding her of her best option.

Daniel would help her. Samantha _knew_ Daniel would help her. She had walked away from him that afternoon, but in her heart she had faith that he would accept her when she needed him.

For the first time in years, she felt a smidgen of hope in her heart. Egypt was a long way from America, and Daniel had a lot of support there. Surely John wouldn't bother looking for her there.

All night, she lay awake thinking about it. It would be easy enough to leave, if she wasn't coming back. The only thing that had kept her from acting out before was knowing what John would do to her when he got her alone. But if she left when he went on one of his trips (no doubt to visit one of his many mistresses) she could be in North Africa for a week before he got back.

Money was the one thing that wasn't a problem. She had a decent amount of savings stashed away in a secret account, and she had access to the safe which kept her jewellery and a 'small' amount of money that John liked to have on hand – to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars, plus close to half a million dollars worth of jewellery. Samantha didn't feel a twinge of conscience in planning to take them. Now that she was planning her escape, she was already feeling more like her old self who wouldn't have taken this much crap from anyone. She was entitled to that money after what John had done to her, and she wouldn't ask for anything more in the divorce settlement. And the jewellery was hers, that he had given to her. She had _earned_ it for all the political dinners she'd had to sit through. If she didn't take them, John would just give them to one of his mistresses, and damned if Samantha was going to let that happen.

As it happened, Samantha got her chance to leave much earlier then he anticipated. Two days after his latest attack, John left for New York, barely concealing his reason for going. " You leave this house and I'll kill you, " he growled. Samantha didn't doubt him. She wondered what was more worrying to him, that Samantha might go out and screw around on him, or that Samantha might go out and show Washington what Senator John Richmond, would-be President, did to his wife behind closed doors.

Not that it mattered. By the time John got back from his dalliance with his precious mistress, she would be gone.

Their passports were in order, thanks to John's love of summer if the South of France. _Yeah, right. He probably has a mistress there, too_. Samantha was much less bitter about it then she had been a few days ago. Then, she had been trying to save her marriage, had desperately wanted for John to give up his women. Now it didn't matter. John could have his women – he just wouldn't be having her as well.

An hour after John had left, Samantha started packing her and Jacob's bags. She packed as much as she could, knowing it would be her only opportunity, leaving all her evening gowns – John could give them to one of his mistresses for all she cared, she had hated every minute spent in one of them. What she wouldn't give to strut around again in cargo pants and combat boots.

" Where are we going, mommy? " Jacob asked plaintively. He was nine years old and knew there was serious trouble between his parents. He knew his father had done those terrible things to his mother. Make-up didn't do much to hide the cuts and bruises on her face, but they took the grotesqueness out of it.

" We're going to see an old friend of mine, " Samantha said. " We're going to Egypt – where it's nice and sunny. " That was another thing she wouldn't miss about life with John – the miserable Washington weather. The city had started out life as a swamp, and never rising much above that. _Goodbye and good riddance_, she thought.

She noticed Jacob didn't seem to sad about leaving Washington. He hated the weather too, and he had found making friends difficult. The state of his parent's marriage had made the little boy very introverted, and he often got teased for being shy. And he was always frightened his father would turn his anger on him. John had been very focal about his disappointment in Jacob's looks ; Jacob had always felt like he'd let his father down. Samantha had never noticed it before, and she chastised herself for it. Well, she would make it up to him.

" I know you're life hasn't been great so far, " Samantha admitted. " But you're daddy and I will make it up to you. " Jacob stared at her, not entirely sure he wanted to go back to his father. He supposed he loved John, didn't all sons love their fathers? But he had never felt loved, and had often been frightened by his father who was often away. While his father was away, his mother always seemed happier, and this time she seemed especially happy. Jacob wasn't sure he wanted his mother to be sad again, even for his parents to be together.

Samantha realised how Jacob had interpreted her words. " Forget I said that, Jake, " she said. She would have to take things slowly with Jacob. She didn't know how he felt about John. It would come as a shock to him, and Samantha wasn't sure how well he would take it. Better give him time to get to know Daniel first.

Getting on the plane was easy. Samantha was worried she might be stopped and asked about her injuries, or John or one of his friends might recognise her and try to detain her, or take Jacob away. But nothing happened, beyond the nightmare security that had been in place since September 11. She and Jacob soon got on the plane, and it took off, leaving behind the United States and her sorry marriage and miserable life – for good.

_Daniel_, she thought, relief washing over her and the plane rose higher and higher and the United States became smaller and smaller, _I'm coming. _

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Daniel stared moodily at an artefact he'd discovered two days before, the day after he'd gotten back to Egypt. It had Ancient Egyptian writing on it, pretty standard stuff from someone like Daniel, but he couldn't get past the first character – and he couldn't even crack that one.

He couldn't think about anything but Samantha.

_What else could I have done? _He asked himself over and over. Short of killing the bastard, absolutely nothing – and killing John Richmond, as satisfying as it would have been, wouldn't have done either of them any good. Well, it would have done Samantha good – she wouldn't have been married to the bastard anymore. But there had to be a better way then Daniel spending the next twenty years in jail…

He couldn't think of it. All he couldn't think about was what Richmond would have done to Samantha as punishment for catching her with another guy. Even if Richmond hadn't witnessed his wife with her skirt hitched up and her legs wrapped around another man's waist, they must have looked pretty damned guilty when John had walked in. It wasn't like Daniel had a lot of practice at making out with married women and then acting cool in front of their husband's.

No matter that he couldn't think of anything else he could have done, he still felt guilty for abandoning Samantha. She was obviously in trouble, and his kissing her and gotten her into more. _Damn it_. He should have kept things professional. That could have saved her a little grief.

Once more, he tried to focus on the artefact. The character swam in front of his eyes and it may as well have been a child's scrawl for all the sense it made to him. _A child's scrawl_ – it made him think of Jacob. Eight years ago, after he heard of the belated news that John and Samantha Richmond had given birth to a son barely nine months after their extravagant wedding, he had discretely contacted her, wanting to know the obvious.

He didn't hold it against her that she had taken a while getting back to him. At that point in time, he still resented bitterly that she had chosen John over him, but he could understand that she didn't want John to know about their passionate rendezvous the night before the wedding. She had told him, without hesitation, that she had already perused that avenue and John was Jacob's father. Daniel had no reason to contact either her or her son.

He had been more disappointed then he had expected to be – after all, it had been a one-night stand, a mistake – she had proven that when she married Richmond – but had put it behind him. Or tried to. He kept up with Samantha, and every so often couldn't help but wishing Jacob had been his son. How different all their lives might have been then.

He sighed. The past was the past. Samantha had made her decision, and they'd both moved on, after a fashion. If he didn't get a move on with this artefact, he'd lose his wonderboy status. He tried to concentrate.

There was a discreet knock on the door of his caravan. It was Ashly, a beautiful young women who acted as an assistant and go-between on the digs. She was an intelligent woman who would soon graduate to working on the digs. She adored Daniel, and the two had been lovers on and off for three years. He knew she wanted more commitment from him, and he wished he could give it to her. Maybe in another year or two.

" There's someone hear to see you, Doctor Jackson. I told them to go away – " even some as 'geeky' as archaeology attracted its groupies, and someone as well-known and good-looking as Daniel attracted more then his fair share, although he had to integrity to turn them all away " – but she insisted you'd want to see her. "

Daniel's heart skipped a beat. " _She? _" Daniel questioned.

" A woman, about your age. Long blond hair. And she had a kid with her. Guess he's her son. Said her name was – "

" Samantha Carter? " Daniel offered, his heart catching in his throat. Why the hell would she be _here? _Egypt was uncivilised compared to Washington. Daniel grinned wryly at that thought. Well, maybe not.

Ashly nodded, and Daniel's heart soared. He had no idea what had driven Samantha to come all this way to him, but she had. " Ash, could you do me a favour and bring her over. Ask her if she wants her son occupied – you don't mind taking him on a tour, do you? You can get anyone excited about archaeology. "

Ashly smiled as magnanimously as she could. She had been trying to make Daniel notice her in the way she wanted him to for years, and now she knew it was a lost cause. " Of course. Oh, and Danny, just to warn you – she looks like she's in pretty bad shape. "

_Pretty bad shape_ was something of an understatement. Samantha looked like death warmed up – and it was several days since Daniel had seen her in Washington. Richmond must have beaten her within an inch of her life.

Instinctively he took Samantha in his arms. The weight of her body collapsed against his. For the last two days she'd been sustaining herself on seeing Daniel ; now that he was here, she became aware of her exhaustion.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and led her to his couch. Gone were the days when a dig was conducted out of tents ; he now had a caravan, and a pretty nice once at that. " It's OK, " he said soothingly. " I'm here. "

She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. " He – after you saw you and I together – he – "

He stroked her hair gently. " I think I can fill in the blanks, " he said. " You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. "

Samantha didn't say anything else, although Daniel knew she'd want to talk in the future. He'd be here to listen, although he knew he wouldn't want to hear it. He felt sick to think about what Richmond had done to her. " Just one thing Sam – did he – did he rape you? "

Samantha was silent. " OK, I'll take that as a yes. " Daniel took a deep breath, trying to control the rage he felt building up inside him. He wanted to kill Richmond. To hell with the consequences, the man deserved to die for the way he'd treated Samantha. " I'm not going to press you if you don't want to talk about it, but I think it's a really good idea that you get yourself checked out. There are some great doctors here – Western doctors. Some of the women here got fed up with the attitudes of the Egyptians. So they won't treat you like you deserved it. "

Samantha pressed her cheek against Daniel's chest. She inhaled his scent. He smelled so masculine, so safe. Unconsciously she dug her fingers into the back of his skin. It hurt, but he didn't complain.

For a while he held her and she clung to him. He was mentally making plans for her, for them, when a thought occurred to him. " Sam, " he said hesitantly. " I don't know the guy very well, but I don't think Richmond's going to let you get away with this – even here. I don't think he's the kind of man who'll let you take his only child out of the country and be fine with that. "

" He won't come after me, " Samantha said, her voice muffled through his shirt.

" I think you're being a little optimistic, " Daniel said dryly. " I can imagine what his only child – " well, his only legitimate child at least " – means to a man like him. "

Samantha started crying again. " No, you don't understand, " she said. " After – after the note I left, John won't be interested in Jacob anymore. "

" What note? " Daniel asked, although that should have been obvious. " What could you possibly have said to make him not interested in his son. "

Samantha cried harder. " The truth. "

Daniel sighed. This was like pulling truth. " Which was… " he prompted.

Samantha looked up at him, her blue eyes filled with tears of shame and regret. She hadn't thought about how she was going to tell Daniel the truth, so she blurted it out.

" He's your son. "

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Senator John Richmond came home early, planning to surprise his wife. He wanted to see if she'd learned her lesson and was staying at home like a proper housewife should, or if she was meeting another lover somewhere. In which case, there'd be hell to pay…

She wasn't at home, and his fury mounted. He should have killed her the last time. Sluts like her didn't deserve to live.

Then he realised that her clothes were gone – except the most formal ones – everything she values was gone – she had emptied the contents of the safe – and his son was gone. _Bitch! _She would pay for that. Oh, she would pay for that dearly.

And the he found the note she had left.

_Dear John,_

_By the time you get this I will be long gone. You are a bastard and a bully and your mistresses can have you. Don't bother trying to find us, I will never come back to you. You needn't waste your time looking for Jacob, either, because he's not your son. I had a one-night stand the night before our wedding and I'm relieved to know he's the rather because Jacob is the only tie you have to me, and now you don't have that. _

_Samantha._

John crumpled up the note, his fury rising until he felt like he would burst. Bitch! Slut! Whore! No wonder Jacob didn't look like him. She would pay for this. She would pay for humiliating him like this.

He would kill her, and that bastard she tried to palm off as his.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three 

Daniel lay wide awake while next to him Samantha slept peacefully – as she should, given how much sedative she'd been given. It had been the only way to calm her down after she'd made her confession about Jacob's paternity.

Ever so often, Daniel stifled the urge to shake Samantha awake and demand the truth – why she had denied paternity for so long? And it wasn't like she had passively denied it, either. She had told him she'd taken a blood test, that Jacob was John's son – he wondered if that counted as fraud. What were father's rights these days?

He glanced over at Samantha and knew he wouldn't have the heart to prosecute her anyway. She had gone through hell with Richmond, and come to him for help. He had said he'd be there for her if she needed him. Well, she needed him and he was here. With a sigh, he quelled his anger towards her and vowed to be patient when she woke up. In the mean time, he had some bonding to do with his son.

Jacob seemed like a great kid. He was shy, but what would you expect from a nine-year old who had grown up in the shadow of John Richmond? Already he had started to open up – he had really taken a shine to Ashly.

Daniel pent a pang of conscience when he thought of his on-and-off lover who now looked to be permanently off. He had never promised Ashly anything but he still felt bad.

He seemed to be making a habit of fucking up when it came to the women in his life.

But was it really his fault? _Samantha_ had been the one to walk away from him, after he'd suggested they take things slow (after _she_ had called her dead lover's name while climaxing, no less!), _Samantha_ had been the one to go ahead with a marriage after the incredible night they'd spent together – _Samantha_ had lied to him about Jacob not being his son.

He loved her, but every time he thought about his nine-year-old son that he barely knew, his heart burned. Samantha, whatever her reasons, had allowed his son to spend the first nine years of her life being raised by John Richmond. He looked at the little boy and he barely knew him.

He sighed. He couldn't confront Samantha about it right now, he knew. No matter how angry he was at her right now, she had been through hell and had come to him as a friend. It was enough for the moment that she had come to him.

There was a knock on the door that Daniel took to be Ashly returning with Jacob. " Hey, pal, " Daniel said uncertainly. How did you address the nine-year-old son you never knew? " You have fun? "

Jacob's eyes sparkled. Ashly was a brilliant teacher, and she'd treated him like an equal. The weather here was much hotter then Washington, but already he would rather be here then back home.

Daniel smiled. " I bet you're hungry, " he said. " Your mom's sleeping right now so why don't we go get something to eat and leave her in peace? " He held out his hand encouragingly, not so much to steady the boy but as a tentative form of communication with him. Jacob hardly knew him. Daniel hoped he would trust him. At the moment, he'd settle for being a favourite friend of the boy's mother.

Hesitating for a few seconds, Jacob's curled his fingers around Daniel's hand. Though he felt loyalty for the father who never showed much interest in him, he really liked this man that was his mother's friend. His mother didn't have many friends. Jacob's face screwed up in concentration as he tried to remember his mother having _any_ friends. Well, Daniel was a good start. With a child's intuition when it came to adults, Jacob liked Daniel, knew Daniel wasn't like his father – and in a good way, too.

Jacob wondered if Daniel had any children, and if he played with them and helped them do their homework and read stories to them at night. He felt a twinge for jealousy for this imaginary children. Yes, he definitely liked Daniel.

Daniel was pleased that Jacob seemed to be warming up to him over a lunch of hamburgers and fries. He asked the boy a few questions about school which Jacob answered in great detail once he realised Daniel was truly interested. Jacob didn't want to brag about his achievements, but he had done quite well at school, particularly at Maths and Science. That didn't surprise Daniel.

" When I worked with your mother, she was always making the rest of us feel stupid. She was so smart, " Daniel recalled fondly, in a way that made Jacob feel like being smart was a good thing, not a bad one. " I bet you're going to be just like her. "

Jacob squirmed with secret happiness. This was more attention then his father had ever given him. Suddenly he felt guilty and disloyal.

Daniel sensed his conflicting emotions immediately. " You feel bad because you're having fun without your father, " he said.

Jacob nodded, and Daniel's heart burned. Once more he had to quell the urge to wake Samantha up. How could she have done this to him and Jacob?

" I'm not trying to take your father's place, " Daniel kind-of bent the truth. " I just want to be your mother's friend – and a friend to you, too, if you'll let me. "

It was exactly the right thing to say to the confused boy. Jacob squirmed again with happiness and to hide it, he tucked into his hamburger. Daniel watched his son wistfully. He wanted to be more then a friend to Jacob – he wanted to be a father.

He had to bide his time, Daniel knew, a little resentfully, but there was no other way. As far as Jacob was concerned, John Richmond was his father. Daniel would have to earn the boy's trust before he and Samantha could spring _that_ little gem on the boy. _I suppose better late then never_, he thought.

He made arrangements for Jacob to sleep in a small caravan that had been recently vacated by an excavator that had left the site. Daniel would have loved to have his son stay with him, but his caravan was definitely a one-person thing. Samantha could stay with him, but in his heart of hearts he knew it wasn't appropriate for Jacob. Tomorrow he'd see about getting a caravan with a partition. That was, if Samantha wanted to stay. He hoped she did.

" If you want anything, anything at all, just come and knock, " Daniel said, and Jacob knew he meant it. He let Jacob spend some time with his mother, who was still sleeping. Mostly Jacob wanted to be reassured that he mother was OK. Though she was asleep, she seemed to be calm. Although Samantha wasn't aware of it, Jacob knew how fitfully his mother slept, especially after a bad time with his father.

And he was reassured by the gentle way Daniel stroked her hair. He knew he shouldn't be, because this was his mother and she was married to his father, but he knew Daniel cared for his mother and would take good care of her. He gave his sleeping mother a hug and a kiss which Daniel found touching, and rewarded his mother's friend with a smile that melted his heart.

Ashly put Jacob to bed, and then came to spent a few minutes with Daniel. It was obvious he cared deeply about Samantha Carter, about as obvious as the fact she was on the run from an abusive husband.

" He's your son, " she stated the obvious. " Don't give me that look, Daniel, and say he looks nothing like you. He's got your eyes. "

" Sam has blue eyes too, " Daniel pointed out, a little miffed he'd been caught out.

Ashly laughed, a little humorously, a little sadly. " You don't give me much credit, " she said dryly. " You think I can't tell any other colour blue from your eyes? They're exactly the same colour. "

Daniel squirmed. " Look, Ash, he doesn't know and I'd like to keep it that way for the moment. I need to earn his trust before I tell him. "

Ashly rolled her eyes. " I'm a little hurt, Daniel, that you think you can't trust me, " she said.

Daniel sighed. " I'm sorry, Ash. It's just – a little crazy at the moment. Sam swore to me Jacob wasn't my son and now – well, it's a lot to deal with. "

" You're angry at her, " Ashly noted the obvious.

" Damn right I am, " Daniel said with more vehemence then he intended. A battered wife couldn't be held entirely responsible for her actions. He sighed, realising just how crazy things were at the moment. " I'm just so angry – I have a nine-year-old son that I don't know, who thinks this complete asshole is his father. Everytime I think about it, I want to wake Sam up and demand she tells me why the hell she would do something like that to me – and our son. "

" But you still love her, " Ashly noted again, although her voice was more emotive this time. She wasn't about to cry or beg for Daniel's affections but it cut her deeply, seeing how much Daniel cared for that woman.

Daniel realised how Ashly felt, and that she was trying to hide her feelings. " I'm sorry, " he said. " I shouldn't have – " he paused, trying to work out exactly what it was he shouldn't have done.

Ashly waved her hand impatiently for Daniel to stop. " You didn't promise me anything, " she said. " If I hoped for anything more from you, well, that was my own fault. I won't make a fuss, if you're worried about that. "

Daniel smiled. He knew how much integrity Ashly had. He hoped they might still be friends, after a fashion. " I wasn't, " he said.

Ashly squeezed Daniel's hand affectionately. She was glad Daniel knew her well enough to know she wasn't the vengeful type. She loved him and respected him and was too professional to throw that away on some slight that was her fault anyway for hoping for too much. Daniel had never promised her anything but his body, and if she were honest with herself, she would admit she had always known there was someone else in his heart. She hoped they might still be friends, after a fashion.

She patted his hand magnanimously. " Go on, she needs you more then I do, " she said. She left Daniel to his thoughts, and after a few minutes he crept into his caravan to a sleeping Samantha.

She was beginning to stir ; the sedative was wearing off. " No, " she sobbed in her sleep. " John, no. _NO! _"

Daniel slid into bed beside her, cradling her from behind. " It's OK, Sam, " he whispered. " I'm here. You're in Egypt. John can't hurt you anymore. "

Slowly Samantha woke up fully, and it took her some time to adjust, despite Daniel's soothing words. His caravan, while spacious by recreational vehicle standards, was cramped and foreign by her own standards. Daniel's smell was completely foreign to her – it had been too long – and few a few seconds her memory scrambled for the answer : _Where am I. _

_I'm in Egypt, with Daniel. I left John. Daniel knows Jacob is his son_. She bolted up in bed, the remnants of the sedative completely worn off at this recollection. She hadn't meant to blurt out Jacob's paternity to Daniel like that.

" Welcome to the land of the living, " Daniel said dryly. " You were dead to the world. "

Samantha glared at him groggily. " You gave me that – whatever it was, " she complained.

" You were hysterical, " Daniel said defensively. " I thought you could do with some real sleep. I, uh, figured you weren't getting much of it at home. "

Samantha felt guilty. Daniel was only trying to do the right thing by her. " I'm sorry, " she said. " I was just thinking about Jake – "

" He's in another caravan, I didn't think it was appropriate for him to stay here. " He smiled. " He seems to like it here. He's really taken to Ashly."

At the mention of the other woman's name, Samantha felt a stab of jealousy. Without even seeing Ashly and Daniel together, she knew there was something between them. She had known from the look Ashly had given her, first when she introduced herself as an old friend of Daniel's and then after she had come back with Daniel's OK to let her on site. She wondered if Daniel was serious about her. _He couldn't be, the way he kissed me_, Samantha told herself, but she was having a hard time believing it. After all, Ashly was beautiful, and an archaeologist – well, trainee, from what Samantha could gather – and Samantha knew she looked like shit.

She couldn't help but comment, " You and Ashly seem close. "

Daniel paused for a moment, as if contemplating the meaning behind Samantha's words. He smirked. " Are you jealous? " he asked.

" No, " Samantha said shortly, too shortly. She started to feel foolish. She had come here on the hope of Daniel's love, and found him involved with someone else. Well, what did she expect? That he had spent the last ten years patiently waiting for her to leave her husband?

" You don't have to worry, " Daniel said. " We were together a few times, but mostly we're just friends – _now _we're just friends. She always wanted more, I think, but she knew I couldn't give her what she wanted. " he held her gaze for a second more then he meant to, then averted his eyes. It was best not to go down that path yet.

Samantha's body ached and she was aware of what a mess she was – physically and emotionally – but she still couldn't help being aware of the sensation that passed between her and Daniel when their eyes met.

The silence between them turned awkward. Then issue of Jacob's paternity lay between them heavily. Finally Samantha said, " I guess you must be angry with me. "

Daniel raised one eyebrow. _That_ was the understatement of the century." You think? " he said, trying unsuccessfully to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

Samantha squirmed. " I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do, " she said.

Daniel had had no intention of bringing it up until Samantha got better, but since _she _had brought it up – " I don't know, Sam, _Jacob's you're son_ would have been a good start – _nine years_ ago. My God, you let _my son_ be raised by that asshole. Who knows what Richmond could have done to him! " There was real fear in his voice, and Samantha felt insanely guilty, Whatever reasons she'd had at the time, their legitimacy evaporated under the force of Daniel's sense of loss and betrayal.

" John was never violent towards Jacob," Samantha said quickly, hoping that would placate Daniel.

It didn't. " I'm supposed to feel better, just because he didn't hit my son? " Daniel asked. " It doesn't matter – how do you think it would have been for him, growing up in an environment where his dad was always beating up his mom? Did you really think that was _healthy_ for him? He's so introverted, I bet he's scared of Richmond. You put my son in that environment, Sam. You took my son away from me and let Richmond in his life. "

Daniel was near tears. Samantha reached out to him but he jerked away. " Don't, " he said. " There's nothing you can say to me right now that will make me feel better. And it can't be doing you any good either. You need to get well. Just promise me you aren't going to take my son away from me again. " The reality was, he had absolutely no rights – every country's law, weather here or in America, would recognise Richmond as Jacob's father. Samantha could walk out with the boy and Daniel would have no say in the matter. The idea scared the shit out of him.

Samantha's eyes glistened with tears – guilt, rejection, she didn't know – but vowed not to make things worse by being emotional. Daniel was feeling angry and cheated, and he had a right to be. He needed time – time to get over his anger, and time to get to know his son. It was the least Samantha could do for him, and it wasn't like she was going anywhere soon. " I promise, " she said. She added, " he needs time to get to know you before we tell him. "

" I know, I already thought of that, " Daniel agreed, his body language softening as the fear of being separated from his son again dissipated. He smiled wistfully, thinking about the time he'd spent with Jacob. " He seems to be warming up to me. "

Samantha could easy imagine Jacob taking a liking to Daniel. " He has your eyes, " she thought out loud. It was something she had noticed every time she looked into her son's eyes. John had bought her story about Jacob taking after her – which said a lot about the last time he'd taken a good look at either her or Jacob – but Jacob's eyes were a deeper blue then Samantha's. They were the sparkling crystal blue that Samantha knew so well – in Daniel.

" Ashly said the same thing. "

Samantha felt a stab of terror. " You told _Ashly_? " she asked.

" Relax. She guessed herself. She's very insightful. She won't say anything, you can trust her. " Because she didn't have much of a choice, Samantha decided that was the best thing to do.

There was a long pause between them. Finally Samantha said, " Do you want me to stay somewhere else? "

Daniel stared at her. He was angry with her, but still loved her. " No, " he said. " Not unless you want to. I'd rather you stay with me. It makes me feel better, knowing you're close. "

Although Samantha knew Daniel only meant it as a friend, she still felt a warm feeling inside to know he cared for her. It had been a while since anyone had cared for her. Since Daniel, really. _You owe him a lot, Sam_, she told herself. _Ten years, and a hell of a lot of answer_. Well, time would give Samantha the opportunity to pay Daniel everything she owed him.

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A few weeks went by and Samantha physically improved. She was reluctant to see a phycologist though, which worried Daniel, but that was something he'd give time before he started pressing her. He was more concerned about her internal health.

" Sam, " he began hesitantly one day. " I know I said I wouldn't push you, but I think it's really important that you see a doctor."

" I'm fine, Danny, " she said. " I feel better every day. Nothing was broken, just a bunch of cute and bruises. I don't need a doctor. " Her voice sounded hollow.

Daniel felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. Why couldn't she make it easy for him. " I meant… you should see a doctor… in case… Richmond's… given… you… something. "

Samantha paled at the thought. Of course it had occurred to her, but she hadn't wanted to deal with the possibility. Daniel saying it out loud made it real – too real. She turned away from Daniel, shaking.

Daniel came up behind her, his hands on her shoulders, but didn't try to turn her around. If she didn't want to look at him he wouldn't make her. " Sam, " he said softly. " I didn't want to bring it up, but it's important. Given how much he played around, there's a strong possibility he got something – and passed it onto you. "

Samantha shuddered involuntarily. Daniel's tightened his grip on her shoulders. He was relieved when she leaned against him ; she wasn't pushing him away. " If you have something, it's best they pick it up early, " he pointed out. Of course, there was every chance he'd passed something to her years ago. Daniel decided not to mention that.

A few days later, Samantha agreed to see a doctor. She didn't request it, not wanting to look like a weak woman, but Daniel booked her some time with a female doctor, one of the ones who had come as part of the team to the dig. The other women felt more comfortable with her then the local doctors.

He volunteered to go with her, if she wanted – only if she wanted. Samantha tried not to look relieved. She was dreading the experience, and she had wanted him by her side, but hadn't wanted to look like a weak woman in asking for him.

Daniel knew her well.

She was tested for every possible disease or infection, poked and prodded, jabbed with needles and gave samples. It was an invasive experience, and she hated it. It reminded her of just how much Richard had debased her.

After the tests Daniel spent the rest of the day and evening with her. She felt dirty to the very core of her being. It was a very real reminder of the nightmare that had been her marriage.

" I should have left, I don't know what I didn't, " she said sadly. " I should never have married him in the first place. "

" No, " Daniel agreed, " You shouldn't have. " He was aware of what Samantha was going through, but he wasn't letting her off the hook for separating him from his son so easily.

Although to be fair, Samantha had encouraged Jacob to open up and become close to Daniel. The boy barely seemed to remember Richmond. He enjoyed Daniel's company, and seeing her happy. She laughed a lot more these days, and encouraged Jacob to laugh.

And Daniel played with him, and helped with his homework (Samantha insisted he keep up with his studies), and read stories to him at night. He'd had part of his caravan converted into a space for a bed, and installed a sturdy partition around it (what did one guy need such a huge space for anyway?) and commandeered the use of a smaller caravan so Jacob had his choice – he could have his private space with Daniel and Samantha, or he could have his own caravan. He switched between the two, depending on how he felt that particular night. Sometimes the boy felt independent and slept on his own, and other nights he liked to have his mother close by. And he liked Daniel's company, too.

Daniel had made no attempt to move things along with Samantha. He desired her, but there was still so many unresolved issues between them. He couldn't start a relationship without that being sorted out first.

" So are you gonna tell me why you left? " Daniel asked one day. Samantha knew he was talking about why she'd left him, not John.

" _You_ left _me_, " she reminded him. " When I woke up, you were gone. "

Daniel stared at her. " And after the night we spent together, it didn't occur to you how I felt about you? I told you I loved you, for Christ sakes. How could you have married him? And when you knew Jacob was my son, how could you have kept that from me? You _lied_ to me, Sam. You told me he wasn't my son. "

" I'm sorry, " Sam whispered. " I was messed up – confused – if I admitted Jacob was your son, then I would have had to admit I'd wasted my life with John. "

Daniel sighed. He wanted to be angry at her, he had a _right_ to be angry, but when faced with what she must have gone through with Richmond, he couldn't stay angry at her. Whatever she had done to him, Richmond had done to her much worse.

He pulled Samantha into his arms. He realised he'd forgiven her ages ago. What was done was done, and she'd made her best effort to see father and son reunited and bonding. " We'll get through this, " he said. " Just so long as we're all together we'll get through this. "

Samantha felt instantly relaxed in Daniel's arms. Oh, Lord she had missed him. She missed the sound of his heartbeat as she lay with her head on his chest. She missed the way he ran his fingers through her hair. She missed how he was so easy to talk to and made her feel loved and safe. She had been a fool to leave him. " We're here, " she whispered, for the first time in ten years feeling a real sense of hope for the future. " We're both here and we're not going anywhere. "

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A week later Samantha's test results came back. She had tested positive for Gonorrhoea.

She felt like her world had collapsed. Finally, things seemed to be going right for her, and then _this_ happened, a reminder of her husband and had badly he'd used her.

Privately Daniel was grateful it was only Gonorrhoea, and that it had been caught in the early stages so she could be treated without any long-term effects. Given Richmond had probably been screwing around their entire marriage, it was a wonder she hadn't caught anything years ago – or caught something that wasn't treatable, like HIV.

He didn't mention that to Samantha. She was devastated enough.

She was beyond devastated. She felt dirty, she was being punished. Hadn't she exposed her son to John Richmond, and deprived Daniel of the joy of watching his son grow up? She spent two hours after telling Daniel she wanted to be alone, crying hysterically before Daniel found her. He mentally berated himself for leaving Samantha alone, even though she'd said she was OK. He should have known better then to believe her.

He held her while she alternatively cried and raged, resisted her attempts to push him away – physically and emotionally – soothed her wounded ego while she worked though her emotions. Richmond had really done a number on her. It frightened him to think of what might have happened if she'd stayed, even for just a few months longer.

" I feel like some gutter whore, " Samantha cried in his arms. " I don't know what I did to deserve this. "

Daniel stroked her hair. He had never been able to forget the sensation of her hair through his fingers – or a lot of other things, for that matter. Although he would never admit it to her, he liked her with longer hair. It was more feminine, it suited her. " An error in judgement, that was all, " he said. " You're not responsible for what he did. He should be castrated for abusing someone like you – anyone, for that matter, but especially someone as amazing as you. "

Like he always did, Daniel had a calming effect on her. Not for the first time, Samantha regretted that things had gone so badly between them. If only she'd given him the time he needed – _they _ needed – for her to get over Jack.

She looked up at him. " I'm sorry, " he said with sincerity that touched his heart.

" For what? "

" For everything. For not giving you time after Jack… for marrying John… I should have trusted my heart but I was so proud, I wanted to show you it was your loss… we could have been happy ten years ago… so I'm sorry. "

Daniel's smile was full of love and forgiveness. " Better late then never, " he said softly as he lowered his lips to hers.

His kiss was as opposite to the last kiss they'd shared in her office as kisses could be. Where that one had been full of animal passion, a base desire, this kiss was soft, gentle, loving. Electricity passed through them but neither wanted to rush it. Gently he pried her mouth open with his tongue and explored the inside of her mouth, slowly, deliberately, until she was shaking from the experience. She had never had a kiss affect her like that.

She reached up her arms to wrap them around his neck, her fingertips brushing his skin so delicately, so intimately that he shivered involuntarily. He snaked his arm inside her shirt, his fingers trailing along her back until she whimpered. " Daniel… " she whispered. She couldn't think of anything else but being with him eight here, right now. Everything in her life had seemed to lead up to this point. " Daniel… "

There was a knock on the door. Daniel growled and reluctantly disentangled himself from Samantha.

It was Ashly. " Hey, sorry to interrupt you, " she said. " There's an American guy here to see you. He's interested in funding us but he wants to talk to you personally. "

It was quite odd for them to get sponsors trek all the way out here just for an audience for Doctor Daniel Jackson, even if he _was_ the wonderboy of the archaeology. " Did he say what his name was? " Daniel asked.

" Richmond, " Ashly said immediately. She had been thoroughly impressed by the wealthy, suave Senator. He couldn't certainly put on a facade when he wanted to, it was why he'd been so successful in politics. " Senator John Richmond. '"

Daniel's blood went cold. He supposed he had been naive to think Richmond would just let his wife go. Well, he was on Daniel's turf now and no way in hell was Daniel letting him have Samantha and Jacob. " I'll see him, " Daniel agreed. " But first can you find Jacob. I want him here where I can see him. "

" OK, " Ashley said, looking curiously at Daniel. She was dying to know the details, but it was clear he wasn't going to give them. She left to find Jacob.

" Daniel… " Samantha said, her voice full of fear. " Is John _here_? " She was visibly shaken. She never anticipated John would come all the way to Egypt to find her.

" I'm afraid so, " Daniel admitted. " But it's nothing to worry about. He's a politician, he has to keep face – what's he going to do? This is _my_ turf, I have a lot of esteem here. He'll demand that you come back, make threats when you don't, and leave. I hope you don't want anything out of the divorce settlement, " he said wryly. Men like John Richmond were usually reluctant to part with their family fortunes in divorce settlements, especially when his ego had been wounded as badly as his had with Samantha leaving him, and finding out that his son wasn't actually his son – that was how he would see it, anyway.

Samantha shook her head. The money and jewels she'd cleared out of the safe were a drop in the ocean of the Richmond wealth – he wouldn't miss them, and he was welcome to keep the rest of his ill-gotten gains. Samantha considered what she'd taken payment for a miserable marriage – and an STD. She felt her skin crawl again at the thought of the disease in her body. The doctor had reassured her that it was fully treatable but she still felt like something from the gutter. _John _had done that to her. Like hell she would ever go back to him. She got a small measure of satisfaction from the anger John must be feeling over finding out Jacob wasn't his son. _Thankgod for that. One less Richmond in the world._

Just to be on the sage side, Daniel retrieve his pistol and tucked it into the back of his pants. Things were pretty secure at the site, but you always got a few people who tried to steal your finds from underneath your nose. A gun deterred most of them.

Jacob came into the caravan, his blue eyes sparkling at his latest discovery. He was developing a healthy tan from days out in the sun. He seemed to have inherited both his parent's natural intelligence, as well as their passions. Any of Richmond's influences on the boy seemed to have been eradicated. " Mom, Daniel, " he said in breathless greeting.

A shadow fell over the three, and Jacob turned around to see Richmond. " Dad! " he said, the emphasis in his voice more from surprise then excitement. In the time he'd been in Egypt and away from his demanding, dominating father, he'd never been healthier or happier. But he was still his father – Jacob's loyalties were torn between Daniel, who knew him so well, and his father, who was his _father_. Tentatively, Jacob took a step towards Richmond –

Who whacked the boy on the side of his head with his own pistol with so much strength Samantha flinched at the sound of metal connecting with skull. With a cry, the boy fell to the floor, automatically drawing his hands to his head.

Richmond turned the gun to Samantha. " Did you think I wouldn't find you? " he asked with a sneer. " You weren't even very clever about it. The first person I thought about was your lover. " He turned to Daniel, hate in his eyes for the man who had managed to steal his wife and son in one clean move. " I assume then, that _you're_ the happy father of this bastard? " He spoke contemptuously as he gestured to Jacob on the floor. " I should have known – no way could he have been a Richmond. He's too much of a sissy. "

Samantha moved to go to her son, but Daniel restrained her. He wasn't letting her any closer to this monster. " She's not going back to you, so why don't you leave? " he suggested as calmly as he could. He wanted to choke the man's life out of him. He reached for his own gun.

Richmond looked coolly into Daniel's eyes. Foolish man to think he could take something that belonged to John Richmond. He would kill him, but that would put him out of his misery too soon. No, what Richmond planned was much worse.

" I have no intention of taking back a whore, or her bastard son. " He nudged Jacob roughly. " Do you know what a bastard is? " he asked. " It's the worst a person can be. It means your mom is a whore who sleeps around and gets pregnant without being married to the father. " He kicked the boy again, even roughly. " In your case, she spread her legs for Daniel here. " He snorted with derisiveness. " She could have had _me_, but she gave herself to _him_. She's stupid as well as a whore. " He aimed the gun at Jacob.

Instinctively Daniel withdrew his own gun and aimed it at Richmond.

Richmond looked at Daniel with contempt. It had wounded his ego beyond description that his wife had chosen this man over him. He was a sissy, a geek who dug things up whereas John Richmond was from Old Money, and would be President one day.

In his own way, he had loved Samantha, as one would love something that they owned that was precious to him. She was beautiful, and she had born him his only son. If only she hadn't been so rebellious – she could have been the ultimate trophy wife, she could have put Jackie Kennedy to shame. And he had loved her, in his own way – as he loved all his most treasured possessions.

And liked all his treasured possessions, if he couldn't have her, or the boy he'd thought was his son, no-one would. Especially not this sissy archaeologist.

Richmond pulled the trigger on his gun, and Daniel pulled his.

From outside the caravan, a shot could be heard, followed by a woman's scream as the bullet that fired hit its mark with deadly accuracy, causing instant death.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four 

Samantha Carter screamed in horror as her husband, Senator John Richmond, fell to the floor, killed instant by a bullet fired by Doctor Daniel Jackson. She had never intended for things to go this far. She had just wanted John to leave her and her son alone.

"_MOMMY! " _Jacob screamed in terror. He had just been attacked by his father with the side of a gun, and heard him say horrible things about him and his mother, and heard a shot fired. He knew his father was dead. Only he didn't know if he was his father or not.

Immediately she was at her son's side, pulling Jacob into her arms, pressing his face into her chest so he wouldn't have the image of the man he'd thought to be his father, with a bullet through his head. Guilt consumed her for what she'd exposed Jacob to – first, nine years of John, and then witnessing his death.

Guilt consumed her for what she'd done to Daniel – depriving him of the first nine years of his son's life, and then putting him into a position where he was forced to kill Richmond before Richmond killed his son – the son who didn't know he existed in any greater capacity then as his mother's friend.

Samantha picked her son up and took him to the partitioned section of Daniel's caravan which served as Jacob's room when he wanted to be close to his mother. She heard the sound of voices coming towards the caravan. Of course ; a gun shot was not exactly something you could miss, or mistake for something else. She wanted to get Jacob at least away from prying eyes until John's body could be moved.

_John's body_… Samantha shivered. She had wanted to be rid of her abusive husband, knowing that if she didn't leave he would kill her, but she had never wanted him _dead_. And she certainly hadn't wished this on Daniel. Daniel, who had always been there for her, who had supported her through this horrible nightmare and had been forced to kill a man because of it.

Now John was dead, and she didn't feel free. She felt more tied down and guilty then ever.

" _Mommy… "_Jacob cried. Samantha held him tighter. Her darling boy who would probably be scarred for life.

_At least he has a life_, Samantha thought gratefully. She didn't doubt John would have killed Jacob, and then her, if Daniel hadn't intervened. He saw them both as possessions, and saw destroying his possessions a preferable alternative to letting them go.

" I'm here, sweetheart, " Samantha said. " Darling, I'm sorry. " She didn't know what she was apologising for. That Jacob had witnessed John's death? That she had let Jacob believe that John was his father? That she had deprived him of a father that truly loved him? Samantha didn't know. _All of the above_.

Samantha heard the door to the caravan open, and voices. Ashly, and a man who's voice she didn't recognise. Ashly was apologising for letting Richmond past security, for falling for his charm ; Daniel was telling her it was OK, Richmond did that to everyone. _Including me_, Samantha thought. Well, he wouldn't fool anyone anymore.

A few minutes later Ashly poked her head in the door. " If you don't mind, " she said to Samantha, " the Doctor thinks it's a good idea to give Jacob a sedative. " Samantha nodded her consent. Daniel would need her tonight and she couldn't handle both him and Jacob after such a traumatic experience.

" Sweetheart, the Doctor's going to give you a shot, " Samantha told her son. " It'll make you feel better, I promise. " Jacob hated shots, but he held his arms out listlessly. Samantha felt guiltier. Less then an hour ago, she had been kissing Daniel and thinking there was real hope for the future. Now things seemed bleaker then ever.

A few minutes later and Jacob dozed off. " He should be out for about twelve hours, " the Doctor informed Samantha. " But it's probably a good idea if he stays in the same room as you, just so you're there when he wakes up. "

Samantha nodded. " Where's Daniel? " she asked.

The Doctor didn't miss her concern for the archaeologists, and her lack of concern for her husband. She only hoped Daniel wasn't getting in over his head. " He's pretty shaken up. We've moved him to another caravan, he was asking for you. Oh, and the Police are here. Are you up to explaining what happened? "

Samantha nodded. Better they talk to her then badger Daniel or Jacob. Passing Jacob to Ashly, she stepped out of the partition.

John's body was still there. She recoiled when she saw him, so… _dead_. She shuddered. Why did it have to end like this? What had she done to deserve this? What had Daniel and Jacob done?

The police were as sympathetic as they could be, but Samantha still found the ordeal stressful. Ashly had already put in her two cent's worth, telling the police Samantha had come to the dig in terrible physical condition – it was Ashly's guess she was running from an abusive husband. Samantha would have been touched if she had heard Ashly's defence of her. While Ashly might be disappointed that things wouldn't work out with Daniel the way she wanted, she still wanted him to be happy.

The cop asked her a few personal questions about her marriage while made Samantha cringe. It was hard to believe it was all over. She didn't want it to be over like this. She just wanted him to be out of her life. And now he was. But not without causing massive devastation to the two people in the world who meant the most to her.

Finally, they were happy with her answers and let her go. Ashly was waiting for her. " I brought you some clothes, " she said. " I figured you'd want to have a shower… and never see those clothes again. "

Samantha smiled appreciatively. " You've been really good about this, " she said.

Ashly feigned innocence. " About what? "

" About me and Daniel. I know you guys had something before I came along and you'd have every right to resent me… but you've been really good about it. "

Ashly shrugged. " Daniel never promised me anything, " she said. " If I wanted anything more then his body – well, that was my own fault. When I saw the two of you together, he was furious at you over Jacob, but it was obvious he still loved you. Being a bitch won't make him love me the way he loves you, so I may as well be an adult about it. Daniel's my friend, and I want to see him happy. I think you can make him happy. "

" I don't know about that, I seem to make things worse, " Samantha said mournfully.

" I think you need to spend some time with him, " Ashly said. " He just killed a man. He's pretty shaken up. He needs you. "

Samantha nodded. In a perverse way it felt good to be needed. God knew she had some debts owed to Daniel.

She spent half an hour under the shower, feeling the hot water run over her, scrubbing her skin until it was red. She felt like she would never be clean of John. Even from the grave he was haunting her.

It felt good to get into clean clothes. Ashly was right, she never wanted to see her old clothes again.

She crept into Daniel's new caravan (she would be quite happy to never see the old one again, either) and noticed Jacob in the corner, sleeping on a mattress. Someone had changed his clothes, probably Ashly.

Daniel was lying on the bed, unable to sleep. He'd been offered a sedative, but turned it down. He didn't want to be sedated, despite what he'd gone through that day. He didn't want to feel hazy and drugged out.

He had killed a man. A man who would have killed his son, but he had killed a man nonetheless. He had fired a bullet into the man's brain, and killed him.

John Richmond was dead because Daniel Jackson had killed him.

Daniel had taken a long, hot shower and thrown out the clothes he'd been wearing. He'd scrubbed his skin until it was red, and felt like he'd never be clean. Even from the grave, Richmond was ruining his life.

Samantha slid into bed next to him. " Hey, " she said softly. She reached out to stroke his hair. He pressed his head into the palm of he hand, embracing her touch. At least he wasn't recoiling from her, that was a good start.

She pulled him into her arms, his head in her lap. She held one of his hands with hers and stroked his hair with her free hand.

He was shaking. His hands were shaking, his whole body was shaking. He didn't want to talk, so Samantha didn't say anything. He gripped her hand tightly so Samantha pulled him up so his head was against her chest and held his other hand, with her arms crossed over his chest. She could feel his heart beating, and she could feel his body trembling.

_I'm sorry Daniel_, she thought over and over, although she didn't say anything. She knew Daniel didn't want to talk. She hoped her presence was enough for the time being. He seemed to want her here, so that had to count for something. _I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you, if I can_. Samantha doubted there was any way you _could_ make up for something like this.

Daniel found a small degree of comfort in Samantha's arms. He had thought she would need comforting, and he felt if he had to take care of her as well as himself, he would break. But she had come into the caravan and silently held him while his body shook uncontrollably, his mind relieving the moment of killing Richmond over and over. He gripped her hands tightly, and she returned his hold, reassuring him that she was still there.

The hours slipped by, and gradually Daniel slipped into a fitful sleep. Samantha didn't let go of him, cradling him in her arms through the night.

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The next day, Samantha took her son aside to talk to him. Daniel was OK for the moment, and she had some serious explaining to do to her son.

Jacob had slept deeply, thanks to the sedative, but now that he was awake he had a million questions he wanted to ask. Was John Richmond his father? If he wasn't, why had his mother lied? If Daniel was his father, why had he waited so long to act like it? Who did he _want_ to be his father, Daniel or John? He had thought of John as his father for nine years, but the last few weeks with Daniel had been the happiest of his life.

He was so confused, and resentful towards his mother for putting him in this position.

Samantha didn't know how to explain things in such a way that a nine-year-old would understand. Hell, _she_ didn't understand why she'd done the things she'd done. Now that she was away from John's influence, she couldn't understand why she'd waited so long to leave. And she definitely couldn't understand why she'd married him in the first place.

" I honestly thought he was your father, " Samantha said lamely.

Jacob glared at her. " How you could think that? " he demanded. " How could you _not know? _I know how those things work, mom. How could you just forget something like that? "

Samantha squirmed. For ten years she had justified her decisions to herself so well that she had believed them. Now, faced with the two men she loved most, and the two men her decisions had most affected, her justifications evaporated. She had fucked up big-time. " I'm really sorry, Joe, " she said. " I made a mistake, what else can I say? I don't want you to be mad at me, I want us to be a family. "

Jacob turned his head away from his mother, his expression stony. Yesterday, he had been happy with his life. He had a mother who loved him and was becoming close to Daniel, who he thought of as his mother's friend. Now he was supposed to think of him as a father? After he had shot the man who he had been raised to believe was his father?

But the man he'd been raised to believe his father had planned to kill him. Daniel had saved his life.

It didn't help answer any of the questions racing through Jacob Richmond's troubled mind. He supposed his name wasn't Richmond, either. What was his name, then? Carter? Jackson? His whole world had been turned upside down.

He shivered when he remembered the way Richmond had struck him like he had. The side of his head still hurt and he rubbed it. _The man he'd always thought of as his father had planned to kill him_. No, Richmond wasn't his father, he had made that clear.

But he couldn't think of Daniel as his father, either.

Sensing her son's inner turmoil, Samantha tried to pull the boy into her arms. Jacob pulled away from her. He didn't want his mother right now, the woman who had brought all this confusion to his life. Why couldn't she just have been honest with him from the beginning? Why did she have to go and marry Richmond? Jacob thought about what his life might have been like if his mother had married Daniel. Probably happier. He had hated life in Washington. All the boys had made fun of him because he was so smart, and his father – _Richmond_ – hadn't had much interested in him, either.

Jacob wrenched away from his mother and left the caravan. He couldn't handle being near her right now. He wanted to be by himself to sort his thoughts out.

Morosely, he found a spot away from everyone else where he sat down and stared at the sand. How quickly things changed – yesterday, everything had been great, and today everything was crap.

After fifteen minutes Ashly found him and sat next to him. Jacob didn't ask her to leave like he would have done with his mother. He liked Ashly, she was fun. She didn't patronise him like most adults did.

" Hey, " she said. " You're mom's worried about you. Said you just took off. "

Jacob shrugged. " She lied to me, " he said.

Ashly looked sympathetic. " It must have been hard for her, to live with that, " she pointed out. " And I think she really did believe that he was your father. Your mom and Daniel weren't together for very long. "

" She still lied to me! " Jacob protested.

" She was going to tell you soon, they both were, " Ashly said. " Daniel really loves you, and he didn't want you to reject him. He wanted you to love him like a father before he told you. Surely you can't deny that you've been a lot happier here then in Washington? "

Jacob was silent ; Ashly had a point. " You know, " Ashly continued. " Daniel's going through a lot right now. He'd really like it if he could spend some time with you. You were close yesterday, yeah? What's changed? "

" He's my father now, " Jacob replied. " He wasn't yesterday. "

" He was always your father, " Ashly pointed out. " And he's always treated you like a son. Hasn't he treated you better then – your mother's husband? "

" Yeah… " Jacob said cautiously.

" Then nothing's changed, " Ashly concluded. " Only now you know he's your father. Don't you want to be there for your father when he needs you? "

" I can't just pretend like nothing's happened, " Jacob complained. " I can't just act like he was always there for me and everything's great. He _wasn't_ always there for me, " he added petulantly, suddenly resentful of the nine years he'd spent answering to John Richmond. Richmond had never really cared for him, only seen him as a credit to himself. Whereas Daniel – why couldn't he have grown up with Daniel as a father? Although it wasn't Daniel fault, Jacob found himself resenting him just a little for only just now coming into his life.

" He wouldn't want you to pretend for his sake, " Ashly agreed. " But he would really like it if you were there for yourself. Maybe you can find it in yourself to go and see him? I think he'd really like that. "

" Maybe, " Jacob said noncommitedly. Secretly, he thought Ashly was just a little bit right. He did want to see his father – Daniel. He was grateful Daniel had saved his life. He imagined what it must feel like to kill someone, and decided Daniel must be feeling bad. He'd go and see him later. For the moment, he wanted to think some more.

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Daniel was grateful Samantha wasn't acting clingy, like she had the last few weeks. She seemed to understand that his problems were bigger then hers, and had put her needs on the backburner to be there for him. He wasn't up to going back to work, so she stayed with him. Sometimes she held him and touched him gently, holding his hand, stroking his hair, sometimes they read separately, seemingly not having anything to do with one another, but he was always glad she was there. There was something reassuring about her presence.

He would have liked to have his son by his side, but he understood that Jacob had problems of his own. The man he'd been raised to think of as his father had tried to kill him, and he'd found out that his father wasn't really his father, and his real father had killed his step-father when his step-father had tried to kill him – it was really no wonder Jacob wanted some time by himself.

Samantha sensed Daniel was feeling moody, and she was by his side. " He'll come back, " she said reassuringly. " He's just a bit confused. I guess I don't blame him, " she added wryly.

" I didn't want him to find out like this, " Daniel said. It pained him to think about what his son must be going through, confused about his two 'fathers' – not to mention the whole shooting thing.

" Neither did I, " Samantha said. " I'm sorry, Daniel. I could have handled this a lot better. "

It was funny, now that he had the most reason to be angry at Samantha, Daniel wasn't. What was done was done – at least now Richmond was dead, he wasn't going to do any more damage to any of their lives.

Daniel rested his head in Samantha's lap. She was glad he had made the move, it showed he didn't completely had her, as he had a right to. She rested her hands on the top of his head. While he didn't go so far as to tell he it wasn't her fault, he was glad she was here. He liked being close to her, he liked her touch.

A little while later, Jacob came in, looking shy and lugging a game of Monopoly. It had occurred to Ashly that maybe the best way to get Daniel and Jacob talking was over something completely benign, like a board game that would keep them occupied for hours. " You want to play? " he asked shyly.

Knowing this was Jacob's way of being close to him, Daniel readily agreed. Samantha immediately found herself something else to do that required her to not be in the caravan. Father and son needed some bonding time.

Two hours later, Daniel and Jacob were in a bitter battle to the finish. Each fancied themselves as a Real Estate Mogul, and each was determined to clean out the other. With good-natured competitiveness, they cheated, lied and generally tried to undermine each other.

An hour and a half after that, they conceded a stalemate and gave up. Jacob allowed Daniel to keep him company on an early dinner. Samantha was still nowhere to be found. Daniel was grateful she had made himself scarce. He was glad she had been there for him last night, but right now he really wanted some alone time with his son.

He could tell Jacob was a little apprehensive about embracing Daniel as his father. Daniel understood, even if it broke his heart. Jacob should have grown up knowing Daniel was his father, not believing John Richmond was. But what was done was done, and Daniel was focusing on the future. He _would_ win his son's love and trust. That Jacob had come without prompting (except maybe some helpful suggestions from Ashly) to him the day after Richmond's death meant a lot to Daniel meant he was open to a relationship with Daniel. It would just take some time. And Daniel had plenty of that. For his son, he would _find_ time.

They didn't talk about anything serious, which was clearly what Jacob wanted. Daniel was dying to play with his son like a father would, but he restrained himself. For the moment, they were friends.

The weeks went by, and Daniel always introduced Jacob as 'Samantha's son'. While it was obvious to anyone who looked in the boy's deep blue eyes that he was Daniel's son, Daniel never referred to this, and for that Jacob was grateful. More then once it occurred to him that his step-father had never given him such consideration.

He now thought easily of Richmond as his step-father and Daniel as his father. But he wasn't ready to make that relationship public, so the three of them continued the thin facade of Daniel as nothing more then Samantha's friend.

Samantha and Daniel slept together every night, although he had never made anything that could be construed as a pass at her since that kiss. He liked having her close to him. Sometimes he woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, having had a nightmare in which Richmond had succeeded in his mad effort to kill Samantha and Jacob. She was always there to hold him and cradle him back to sleep. He had no idea what he would have done to get through those nights if it wasn't for Samantha.

But he never made a pass at her.

She understood his reasons, to a degree. Romance wasn't exactly the first thing on your mind after you had just killed a man – especially when the woman was his widow. Samantha found it hard to consider herself a widow. That word applied to women who had loved their husbands, who had felt their loss keenly, who were sorry they were gone. Samantha was only sorry Daniel and Jacob had gotten hurt in the crossfire of John's death.

But it was still hard, sometimes, to lie at night with Daniel cradled in her arms, his masculine body so close, his masculine scent in her nose, when she felt a tingle go through her body. Oh, God, she wanted him.

Sometimes, when she was alone in the caravan, she touched herself. It was something she had done for most of her marriage to John – even when their marriage had been relatively good, he wasn't the most considerate of lovers – but not something she had done since being reunited with Daniel. It felt like such a let down when she remembered what sex with Daniel was like, but she wasn't going to go begging for some action. Daniel would come to her in his own time. Until then – Samantha shuddered as she brought herself to a climax, thinking about how much more satisfying it would have been with Daniel.

One day Samantha was alone, thinking Daniel wouldn't be finished for another few hours. She settled down and thought of Daniel and what she wished he would do to her…

Daniel entered the caravan to hear Samantha urgently crying his name. He thought she was having a nightmare, although she hadn't had one in weeks. He rushed to the other end of the caravan and hurriedly pushed aside the curtains that separated their bed from the rest of the caravan –

– To be greeted with the image of Samantha masturbating. His throat went completely dry. He thought he'd been embarrassed the time he'd walked in on Samantha kissing Narim, but that was nothing compared to this.

And he couldn't help but thinking how goddamn sexy she was.

So far, he'd restrained himself from moving things along with Samantha because he'd wanted to wait for the right time. But there wasn't a moment he was in her presence that he didn't desire her – and most of the time he wasn't in her presence, too.

Right now, the blood in his body was pretty evening distributed between his face and his lower regions.

Samantha looked at Daniel in absolute horror. Embarrassment swept through her body, though it did little to quench the fire she felt. Humiliated and wishing the earth would swallow her whole, Samantha turned away from Daniel, wishing one of them would disappear.

Daniel didn't know exactly what possessed him to do what he did next. He would never understand what had made him be so bold, except maybe the fire he felt in his heart… and a region a little lower down. He strode over to the bed and drew Samantha into his arms. She resisted his embrace, feeling humiliated, but he persisted. He placed his free hand on her stomach and slowly moved in down, enjoying the sensation of his hand on her bare skin until his fingers gently probed the inside of her thighs. She whimpered. " Daniel… " she cried gutturally. Her body tingled in anticipation of what would happened next.

She groaned when Daniel slipped his fingers inside her. This was already better then when she did it herself. " Daniel… " she cried louder as waved of pleasure began building up in her body. " Oh, God… " She had forgotten how… _talented_ Daniel was. Daniel built her up and brought her down again, built her up and brought her down, prolonging her satisfaction until she thought she couldn't stand it anymore. " Daniel, " she said, her voice pleading, her body shaking. She arched her back and released a drawn-out groan as she climaxed in a way that only Daniel could do for her…

She collapsed on the bed, panting. She looked up at him lovingly.

He lowered his body so he was lying to the side of her, and kissed her. As if her body hadn't already had a sensory overload. She kissed him back eagerly, savouring the taste of him, the feel of his mouth over hers, his tongue tangling with hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him close to her. One arm snaked down the front of his body to his groin. " Tell me you want me, " she whispered mischievously, knowing from his strained pants that he wanted her.

" I want you, " he growled, trailing kisses down her neck. She squealed in delight. " Kiss me, " she ordered.

Daniel obeyed. Samantha wanted to spend the rest of her life kissing Daniel… making love to Daniel… she began to unbuckle his pants.

" Only if you want to, " he whispered between kisses.

" Of course I want to, " she whispered back between kisses. She helped him out of his pants and shirt, he helped her out of the remains of her clothes. She ran her hands down his bare back, and he bucked involuntarily.

He reached over to his bedside table for a condom. Samantha tensed up. " Daniel… " she said. " It's OK – the doc said I'm… completely clean. " She turned her head away, not wanting Daniel to see the humiliation on her face that she felt whenever she thought about it.

Gently Daniel turned her head so she was looking at him. " I wasn't concerned about that, " he said. " I was thinking I don't want you to get pregnant… if you don't want to. "

Oh, what she'd give to start over with Daniel again. But realistically, she was too old to get pregnant anyway. And she wanted to feel Daniel inside her. " Skin to skin, " she said.

Daniel kissed her. He wanted to be inside Samantha fully. " OK, " he said.

They took things slowly, exploring each other's bodies, making up for lost time. Samantha cried out in sheer job when Daniel entered her. It had been so long, too long…

Afterwards, Daniel held her tightly, their sweaty bodies tangled together. " I'm never letting you go again, " he whispered to Samantha. Samantha pressed her body against his in happiness.

" I love you, " she told Daniel.

He kissed the back of her neck, his fingers trailing her back. " I love you too, " he said. Things finally seemed to be going right for them.

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A week later Daniel's cup ran over. He, Samantha and Jacob were having lunch together. Jacob, as usual, was having a hamburger and fries. Richmond had never permitted such common food in his house, and now he was making up for lost time.

" Can I have the ketchup, dad? " Jacob asked casually, but neither Daniel or Samantha missed the word _dad_. Neither of them made a big deal about it, Daniel silently passing the ketchup, but Daniel was elated. Jacob was acknowledging him as his father. Things couldn't get much better.

Half an hour later, with Jacob occupied, Daniel and Samantha hurriedly undressed. " I love you so much, " he groaned as Samantha ran her hands over his body. He fell down onto the bed, naked, pulling an equally naked Samantha on top of him. She straddled him and began to ride him hard. Arching his back, he let out a groan. He could feel himself climaxing already, and knew Samantha was about to as well…

Both of them were too absorbed with their current activity to hear the door to Daniel's caravan open. A man entered into the caravan, walking stealthily to the far end where the bed was located. He had been told this was where Samantha Richmond spent most of her time. The man's lip curled up in disgust. Why she had left her husband to live in this hell-hole was beyond his comprehension. And judging from the sounds coming from behind the curtain, she wasn't exactly playing the grieving widow, either. _Whore_.

He threw apart the curtain to be greeted by Samantha's bare back as she rode her latest lover with abandon. He had always found her to be attractive, mostly because she was the only woman he couldn't have. John would have killed him. Well, now John was dead. That opened up a whole new world of possibilities.

But she had some nerve, shacking up with another man so soon after his death. She should know better. She should have more class. She should be more discreet. The wives of Senators were not supposed to act like whores.

" What the hell do you think you're doing, _Mrs. Richmond? _" Congressman Peter Richmond asked his late brother's wife.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five 

Samantha jumped off Daniel, startled by the sudden appearance of the man she would be most happy to never see again – her husband's brother, Peter. Peter was a younger version of John, only he'd never achieved as much as John had, and had been bitter about it all his life.

He'd never found a woman as beautiful and intelligent as Samantha to marry him, which had added to his bitterness. But then, Samantha hadn't exactly been at her best intelligent when she'd agreed to marry John so Peter shouldn't feel too bad about it.

Needless to say, Daniel was as surprised as Samantha at the arrival of an intruder, and he didn't have the luxury of knowing who it was who had just walked into his caravan. He'd come across some nutcases before, but this one took the cake. Automatically, Daniel reached for the sheets. His next move was to open his mouth and demand who was the guy and what the hell was he doing in Daniel's trailer, but Samantha beat him to it.

" What the hell are you doing here, Peter? " she asked coolly, with a boldness that she'd never had before. So she'd become cheeky as well as a whore.

" I could ask _you_ the same thing, " Peter retorted, his eyes roaming Samantha's body hungrily. Lord, she was a dish. He had always desired her, primarily because she belonged to John but also because she was beautiful and not the least bit interested in him.

Samantha knew he was staring at her, and she followed Daniel's lead, covering herself up. " Are you going to let me get dressed or are you as much of a pervert as your brother? " she asked.

Insolently, Peter took a step back, closing the curtains behind him. He didn't leave the caravan.

Samantha was furious. How _dare_ Peter come back into her life. She thought she'd seen the last of him, along with his brother. She shuddered. Any Richmond in her life was a bad thing.

Well, he wasn't staying. She would make that clear to him. She had no interest in the Richmond fortune, and they had no claim to Jacob. There were no ties, so Peter had no need to be here. He could be on the next plane home.

" Who the hell is that? " Daniel demanded in a whisper as he hurriedly got dressed. Any desire he'd had five minutes ago had completely vanished.

" John's brother, " Samantha said contemptuously. " Never achieved quite as much as John did – including marriage – and always resented it. He's probably here to squabble over the family fortune. "

" I thought you wanted no part in it, " Daniel said accusingly, not really meaning it. He was pissed off that John Richmond had, through his brother, managed to interrupt their lives once again.

" I don't, and I'm going to tell him that, " Samantha said stiffly, a little hurt by Daniel's tone but she supposed he had a right to be upset. Hell, _she_ was upset and she knew what to expect. " He'll be gone by tonight. "

A few minutes later, Samantha and Daniel joined Peter in the main part of the caravan. With perfect timing, one of the security guards showed up asking if it was OK to let Peter in. _A bit late now_. Daniel made a mental note to complain long and hard until they got some decent guard in – ones that actually did their job.

Samantha heard him say something in Egyptian. She knew the phrase 'the boy', and took it to mean he wanted Jacob taken somewhere else. He hadn't used his name so Peter wouldn't cotton on. Samantha was relieved that their son was out of harm's way. Not that she expected a repeat of John's death, but she was prepared for some ugly words to be exchanged, and she didn't want her son witnessing it. It was bad enough to be called a bastard by one Richmond.

With the guard dispatched, Daniel turned to Peter. " What do you want? " he asked coolly.

" I want you to take your filthy hands off my sister-in-law, for starters, " Peter growled.

Daniel sided against Samantha, snaking one arm around her waist. She was trying not to show it, but she was nervous. Daniel took this to mean Peter Richmond was as cruel and perverted as his brother. " She's not your sister-in-law, " Daniel responded coolly.

" She was married to my brother, that makes her my sister-in-law, " Peter said pompously. The way he said _sister-in-law_ made it sound like Samantha was his property. " And she and my nephew will be coming home with me to Washington, where they belong. "

Daniel's grip around Samantha's waist tightened. " If you go anywhere near my son I will kill you, " he said in a tone that meant business.

_That_ was something Peter wasn't prepared for. " _Your…son? _" he asked incredulously, his eyes narrowing. He looked at Samantha accusingly. " _Whore! _" he hissed. " I'll see to it that you get _nothing! _"

" I didn't want any of your miserable fortune anyway, " Samantha shot back. " I would have told you that over the phone and saved you a trip. Now you can go home and tell your delusional mother that the family fortune is in tact. "

Peter was furious. It didn't matter that John had screwed around, that was a man's prerogative. But for his wife to sleep with another man, and then palm the bastard child of as his brother's – well, that was a personal affront to the Richmond Ego. Although it did make matters handy for Peter. With no older brother, and no legitimate children (he'd taken great joy in refusing the requests of his brother's mistresses for child support) Peter was the heir to the Richmond fortune, free and clear. But that didn't change the fact she had screwed around on his brother, and embarrassed the family name. How, Peter couldn't exactly work out, but he knew she'd brought shame to them.

" I think I'll stay here for a few days, until I decide what to do, " he declared. He wasn't letting Samantha get away with this. You didn't just kill a Richmond and live happily ever after. He'd make her pay.

A few days later, it came to Peter what to do with Samantha. He would destroy her life just as she had destroyed his brother's. Oh, he wouldn't kill her – that would be too easy, too unimaginative. No, her brother had loved her, in his own way, just as she loved Doctor Jackson. He would take Daniel away from her like she had left John.

He presented himself back at the site, after making it clear to Daniel he was here to make a deal that Daniel wanted to be present for. Daniel had been itching to have Peter arrested for trespassing, had ordered him off the site three days ago and made sure everyone knew he wasn't allowed back.

" You bring shame to the family name, by not appearing to be a grieving widow, " Peter declared to Samantha.

" Well, I'm not, and to _appear_ so would make me a hypocrite, " Samantha shot back. She clasped Daniel's hand in hers just to piss Peter off.

Peter glared at her. She was much more uppity then the last time he'd seen her. " We all have to be hypocrites at times, " he said.

" Yeah, well, with you Richmonds it's _all_ the time, " Samantha retorted sharply. " Cut to the chase, Peter, and then get the hell out of my life. " She held Daniel's hand tighter, sending a message loud and clear. _Daniel's my life now, and you and your brother mean nothing to me_. Peter was furious. How dare she show such disrespect. She'd get hers.

" I want you to come back to Washington with me and show people you're mourning my brother, " Peter said.

Samantha stared at him incredulously. " You've _got _to be shitting me, " she blurted out.

" I assure you, I am not. People are asking questions about you. It's unseemly that you should disappear like that. "

" Bullshit. The entire of Washington's probably glad they got rid of me, one less smart woman for them to worry about. You forget, Peter, that you've got nothing on me. I don't want your money and you can't take my son away from me. " She smiled smugly.

" Ah, but there's the rub, " Peter said triumphantly. " I could sue the pants of you if I wanted, for deceiving my brother the way you did. You lived in the lap of luxury – _Richmond_ luxury – for ten years because my brother believed he was supporting his son – his heir. If you were only to come to Washington, spend a few years playing the grieving widow… "

Samantha was silent, her body language saying it all ; she was furious. But she knew Peter was right. He could sue her, tie her up in litigation for years. It would cost him big time, but he would enjoy destroying her life over it – and Jacob's. He would be sixteen or seventeen by the time Peter had exhausted all his legal options, and he would hate both his parents for putting him through that.

" Let me think about it, " Samantha said softly. Peter knew by the tone of her voice that she would agree to it.

" You have until tomorrow, " he said. " I have plane tickets booked. Oh, and of course Jacob will be coming with us. It wouldn't be right for my brother's widow to come home without his son, would it? " He smiled smugly at Samantha and Daniel.

Daniel stepped forward, ready to deck Richmond. Samantha grabbed his arm, restraining him. " Don't, " she said softly. Daniel reluctantly restrained himself.

His work for the moment done, Peter left to enjoy the services available in the nearby city. The women here were so _willing_, so subservient, so grateful for American dollars. Pity Samantha wasn't more like that, although maybe she would be when she found out Daniel was no less of a man then John had been. Only John had been honest about it, which in Peter's mind made Daniel a hypocrite.

That night, Samantha and Daniel debated weather or not she and Jacob should go to Washington. It wasn't much of a debate ; as reluctant Daniel was to let Samantha and Jacob going off with Peter, he didn't see they had much of an alternative. If Peter wanted, he could destroy their lives with lawsuits. . He didn't really care if Samantha was in Washington or not, they both knew, he just wanted to separate her and Daniel. Well, a few weeks wasn't going to break them up, and in a few weeks Peter Richmond was going to be sorely disappointed.

They spent the night together, making love three times with a desperate urgency. It killed Daniel to let her go like this, but he had no other choice…

" I'll see you soon, " Samantha promised the next day at the airport. She and Daniel spent every last moment together until the final boarding call. Peter was less them impressed.

" You're not making much of a grieving widow, " he commented icily.

" And _you're_ not making much a of consoling brother-in-law, " she retorted. " I only agreed to do this because you blackmailed me. Damned if I'm going to be nice about it. "

Peter grunted, and settled into his magazine – a trashy men's one with naked women claiming they were liberated. It was all Samantha could do not to rip it up and throw it in his face. _Only a few weeks_, she told herself. Already it felt like an eternity.

Of course, Jacob had been none too happy about leaving Egypt. His memories of Virginia were not exactly happy. He hadn't wanted to leave his father, but Samantha had insisted. " Please, " she'd said. " We have to do this, just for a little while, or else I'll be in a lot of trouble for a long time. "

So here they were, on the plane. Samantha was surprised at how sorry she was to see the outline of the east coast of the United States. She had almost all of her life here – not counting off-world missions – but in the last two months she hadn't thought of it. And why should she? She had no connections in the US now. All her old friends and family were either dead or drifted apart, and the only person who meant anything to her she had left behind in Egypt.

She would be happy to go back.

" Remember, " Peter hissed in her ear. " You and John were taking a holiday together, and he was shot by someone wanting his wallet. There was some trouble with your passport, so you got left behind, but now you're glad to be back, although you're very sad to be returning without your husband. That's what I told my mother. "

Samantha glared at him. She hated being part of such a conspiracy. She wanted to shout to the rooftops what a bastard John Richmond had been, and how the world was better off without him. But if she did – she swallowed and put on her best sorrowful expression for the waiting press. It was amazing what vultures they were, reading to pounce on her grief and make it tomorrow's headline.

They made it to the Richmond family mansion is north Virginia, and Peter and John's mother, Claire, made a big fuss over Samantha although Samantha could tell the older woman didn't really care for her, and never had. But she had felt keenly the criticisms of her friends that her son's wife should be with his family in their time of grief. So she had dispatched Peter go find her.

The weeks passed in mind-numbing monotony for Samantha. For a supposed cloistered widow, she was very much in demand. It was expected that she would be by Peter's side at his many public functions, clinging to the brother of the husband she had loved so much – or so the unsuspecting public thought.

Peter took great pleasure in pretending to be Jacob's uncle. He could tell it made Samantha uncomfortable, and Jacob too. How quickly she had turned the boy against them! Not that Peter really cared, but still, she should have had more respect for John. It was just another example of how she was blackening his memory.

There was always an important function in a few days time that Samantha had to be at whenever she tried to leave. " People would think it was strange if you aren't there, " was Peter's stock reply to her attempts to leave. The threat was clear in his voice ; you stay a little longer, or I will sue you.

So two months passed that way, and every day Samantha's resolve to leave grew stronger. Peter didn't keep her a prisoner per se, so it would be easy for her to leave, but he always found an excuse for her not to. And he knew every time he found an excuse that it was getting more and more difficult to make her stay. Soon, she would leave and there wasn't anything he could do about it. He couldn't go through with his original plan ; the outpouring of sympathy for Samantha and Peter Richmond had paved the way for Peter to stand for Senator of Virginia next year ; he wouldn't blacken the Richmond name just to get even with Samantha.

He had to put his plan into action.

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Two months had passed, and Samantha showed no signs of coming home. For sure, she promised it would be soon every time she spoke to him, which to be fair was at least twice a weak, but Goddamnit, it had been two months, and Daniel missed her desperately.

Not to mention he was incredibly horny. He was a healthy man, in his prime, who got plenty of appreciating looks from women, many of them very good-looking, that he was finding it harder and harder to ignore. Last week he had woken up from a wet dream, something he hadn't had in twenty-five years.

Oh God, he needed to get laid. And Samantha was showing no signs of returning to Egypt.

He couldn't go to her, of course. He didn't doubt that Peter was having her watched twenty-four-seven. It just wouldn't do for the famed widow of Senator Richmond to be caught with her secret lover. Besides, that wasn't the point. It was two months, and she'd said she'd be a few weeks. _She_ should be coming to _him_.

But there was nothing he could do about it other then remind her every time he spoke to her that he missed her, and wanted her in his arms. In the mean time, he kept himself as busy as he could, and ignored as best as he could the inviting looks he was getting from women.

He spent a lot of time with Ashly, glad that they were able to remain friends. It would have been a nightmare for the whole dig if they hadn't. Ashly was a lot like him, intelligent, romantic, with a flair for languages and an obsessive bent when it came to history and archaeology. They could talk for hours and have it feel like minutes. There were times when he wished it was Ashly he was in love with, not Samantha, and though he immediately regretted such thoughts, they came more frequently the longer Samantha was away from him… and it took him longer to be sorry about them.

One night he and Ashly were holed up in his caravan, eating dinner away from the rest of the team. These days Daniel didn't like explaining to people where Samantha and Jacob had gone, and when they were be back. It was hard enough dealing with their absence on his own, without involving other people. With Ashly it was different. Ashly was sympathetic, but never reminded him about it. Ashly made the time without Samantha go faster. And he loved her for it, in his own way.

So they were sitting in his caravan, talking and laughing long after they'd finished eating. They talked about their work on the site, and then drifted onto every subject under the sun. Daniel was often tempted to tell Ashly about the Stargate program, he trusted her that much, but he always stopped himself.

They drank a lot too. Over the course of several hours, Daniel found himself mellowing more and more until he was more relaxed then he could remember being since Samantha and Jacob had left. He tended not to drink a lot but here, with Ashly, it was right.

The more he had to drink, the more he couldn't help but be aware of how attractive Ashly was. She was twenty-eight, with long dark hair and cloudy grey eyes which had always fascinated Daniel – they had seemed to hold many a secret to discover, which for an archaeologist was always an exciting challenge. Her body, which Daniel knew well, was model-proportions. He remembered more the once wondering why Ashly had chosen to be an archaeologist ; she could have made a killing as a model.

Ashly didn't fail to notice Daniel watching her. He used to look at her like that, but he hadn't in months, since before Samantha had arrived on the scene. Ashly had tried to be magnanimous about it, and done a damn good job, but there would always be a part of her that missed Daniel, and wished Samantha had never showed up.

Scratch that. She wished Samantha had never been in Daniel's life. Because even when she and Daniel had been together – if you could call it being together – he had always been distracted. He had always been thinking of Samantha.

Samantha didn't deserve him. The woman was a fool if she would spent so much time away from him, for whatever reasons.

Ashly smiled flirtatiously at Daniel. " Penny for your thoughts? " she asked silkily.

Daniel found himself blushing. He knew Ashly was hitting on him, and he had to admit, he liked it. It was a pleasant change from nagging Samantha every third day. He was tempted to tell Ashley he'd been remembering how her body and looked and felt naked in his arms, but restrained himself. Best to not go there.

Ashly shifted her position, stretching her long legs out deliberately. Daniel swallowed hard. He had a very vivid memory about how those legs had felt wrapped around him. She smiled slyly, aware of the affect she was having on him. He'd been drinking, but not so much that he didn't know what he was doing – or what she was doing.

He wanted her.

He had to resist wanting her.

" Danny… " Ashly said softly, her name rolling her tongue. She'd only ever called him Danny when they were in bed. She got up and sat next to him, her legs pressed against his. Oh, God, those legs…

She placed one hand on his thigh and squeezed it. She knew what affect she was having on him. " Do you want me, Danny? " she asked seductively.

Daniel groaned. " We shouldn't do this, " he said in reply.

In response, Ashly straddled Daniel. Her perky breasts, their shape barely concealed through her shirt and bra, were inches below his chin. His eyes couldn't help drifting downwards…

He went to push her off, not knowing if he'd have the will to do so. She shattered whatever will he did have by grabbing his hands and placing them on her ass. He squeezed it, and had a vivid memory of screwing her doggy-style. Magnificent legs, magnificent ass. " We shouldn't… " he said with less conviction then before.

Ashly kissed him softly. " I'm not asking for anything, Danny, " she said. " I know you love her. And I know you want me. " her hand wandered downward to his crotch. It was apparent that he wanted her. " Just one night, Danny. One night of release. I won't ask anything of you in the morning. … " she ground her crotch against his, and he groaned out loud. He was having trouble remembered what Samantha looked like. His cock was on fire and he remembered all the steamy nights he and Ashly had spent together…

Slowly Ashly peeled off her shirt to reveal a skimpy, lacy red bra underneath. Magnificent breasts, too. With teasing deliberation, Ashly unzipped her pants. She took Daniel hand and slip it down her body. " I've missed you. No-one's done to me what you do. Just one night, Danny… _ohhhhhhh… _" she moaned as Daniel slipped his fingers inside her slippery wetness, touching her in the way she loved.

Hours later, as the sun began to rise of the dunes, Daniel lay in Ashly's arms, asleep and exhausted. He didn't think he was capable of the performance he'd given, but – he'd never been able to go five times in one night. Every time he'd thought he was spent, Ashly snuggled against him, caressed him, made him feel like a teenage boy doing it for the first time, until finally he was spent and he slipped into a deep sleep.

Ashly stroked his hair gently before sliding out of bed. Even though they had spent an incredible few hours together, Ashly knew Daniel wouldn't want to wake up next to her. He would feel guilty enough but in time, she hoped, that guilt would fade.

And in time, she hoped, her own guilt would fade. She loved Daniel and would love for him to forget about Samantha – which he might have to, once she'd found out what he'd done.

One hundred thousand dollars might not mean much to Peter Richmond, but it meant a hell of a lot to Ashly and her sick mother. When Peter had first approached her about it, she had slammed her caravan door in his face. But he had been persistent, and gradually her resistance was worn down.

After all, one hundred thousand dollars was an awful lot of money to sleep with someone you would have slept with for free. One hundred thousand dollars was an awful lot of money to set up a camera to film you.

Ashly was under no illusions as to how Daniel felt about Samantha. She had done it for the money, and also for the dim hope that maybe, if Samantha would be so disloyal as to leave Daniel over one little indiscretion, maybe – just maybe – there was hope in the future for her and Daniel.

She thought this as she left Daniel's caravan in the early hours of the morning, taking her hidden camera with her.

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Daniel woke up late in the morning. The memories of last night came back to him with a mix of pleasure and shame. He had _never_ formed like that before, not even with Samantha.

_Samantha_. Immediately his body was flooded with guilt. He had cheated on Samantha. No matter that it had been easily justifiable last night, with the heady effects of the wine and the headier effects of Ashly all over him, this morning he was regretting it.

He'd finally gotten control of his life, finally gotten Samantha and Jacob and John Richmond was out of the picture, and he went and blew it in one steamy night.

_Samantha doesn't have to know_, Daniel thought desperately. She would try to understand, but she wouldn't. Maybe it was best that she never found out. It _was_ best that she never found out, he decided. Ashly had said she wouldn't hold him to anything in the morning – thank God for that. And she had left before he had woken up to – he was grateful for that, even if he regretted that she had seduced him, and that he had let her.

_Samantha doesn't have to know_, he told himself.

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A week later, Samantha was sitting alone in the Richmond estate, bored out of her mind. Jacob was at school, Peter was out campaigning already – not that Samantha particularly wanted his company.

But Daniel's company would be nice.

She wanted to scream with boredom and frustration. She was slowly going insane here. There was no reason to stay. She had made up her mind, she was going to leave next week. She had bought her plane ticket, although she hadn't told Peter she was leaving. That could wait until after she was on the plane – less confrontation.

She couldn't wait to be back with Daniel. She knew he was starting to get majorly stressed out, she could hear it in his voice, especially the last time she had spoken to him. She knew what this absence was doing to him – if nothing else, Daniel was a virile man who didn't take well to celibacy… Samantha blushed when she remembered their lovemaking. She had started to get pretty frustrated herself. It would be good to be home. She smiled. _Home_. She never would have thought of the Middle East as _home_. But anywhere was home, so long as it was with Daniel. And she would be home in just two weeks, she no longer cared what Peter said. She knew he had Senator and Presidential aspirations, he couldn't start dragging the Richmond name through the mud just to spite her.

She was nearly free.

The mail came in, and there was a package addressed to her. Samantha smiled when she saw it was from Egypt ; it was probably from Daniel. _I'm almost home, babe_, she told him silently. _I'm almost home_. Eagerly, she raced upstairs to her bedroom (she had made it clear to Peter that it was _her_ bedroom, not _theirs_ – he had this crazy idea that he could claim her like he had claimed his brother's Senate seat) and pushed the tape into her VCR.

She was horrified by what she saw.

Daniel, _her_ Daniel, trashing around in bed with a gorgeous young woman – that stupid assistant of his (she had never worked out exactly what Ashly did, always thought of her as Daniel's assistant, since she had assisted him in a matter of speaking). And he looked like he was having the time of his life. Samantha was certain he never wore the expression of heavenly pleasure he was wearing with Ashly when he was with her.

It went on and on. A glutton for punishment, Samantha watched the whole tape, hoping that it was some kind of perverted joke that Peter was pulling. She had no doubt Peter was behind this. And she had no doubt that Daniel was ignorant that his little performance was being caught on camera – she knew he wasn't cruel.

But he was still screwing another woman's brains out while she was stuck here on the other side of the world.

No wonder he had been distant towards her. He had found someone else to occupy his time.

With a scream of agony, Samantha ripped the tape out of the VCR and tore the ribbon to shreds, as if by destroying the evidence she could destroy the act having ever happened. But she couldn't. The image of Daniel with Ashly was burned in her mind.

_Daniel had cheated on her. Like John had cheated on her_.

Of, even in her sharpest of grief at Daniel's betrayal, she knew that it wasn't the same thing. John had been a pathological womaniser, a cruel, sadistic man who had screwed around because he could, who had beaten and raped his wife because he could. Daniel had screwed around because she wasn't there. He had probably tried to be faithful.

But he hadn't succeeded. Samantha wondered how long it had been going on. She wouldn't put it past Ashly to have made her move as soon as she was on the plane. And she had thought Ashly was her friend! But then, plenty of women had been nice to her face while she was married to John, and been having torrid affairs with him behind her back.

The moral of the story was that all men were cheats – even the ones you thought you could trust.

Funny how Daniel's infidelity hurt a lot more then John's. She had thought she'd been devastated to discover her husband's philandering ways, but that was nothing compared to what she was feeling right now.

She had trusted Daniel, loved him with more of her heart then she had anyone else, including her father, her son, Jack. And he had betrayed that trust.

Devastated, Samantha collapsed on her bed, crying. She couldn't get the image out of her head – Daniel and Ashly in half a dozen different positions, him grunting and groaning as he thrust in and out of her – fresh tears fell from her eyes.

She couldn't go back to Daniel. She wouldn't go through that again – forgiving a cheating lover. She had been down that road, and it only gave them permission to do it again – and again and again.

She wouldn't do that. No matter how much she loved Daniel. No matter how much her heart ached to think about life without him.

One thing about Daniel, he had given her much more respect for herself. And now she had too much respect to stay with a man who cheated on her.

Ashly was welcome to him.

Why did he have to screw around? Why couldn't he have waited?

Better she find out now then later.

Jacob would be devastated.

She would not stay with a cheater because of their son. Daniel should have thought about it before he started screwing around.

Peter returned home several hours later, triumphant when he saw a tear-stained Samantha. Obviously, Ashly had come through for him. Clever girl, that Ashly. She knew a good deal when she saw it. He was only sorry she hadn't seen that _he_ was a good deal. She could have been First Lady once day. But no, she had to be hung up on Daniel Jackson. What was it with women and geeky scientists?

" I take it you got my… _gift_, " he said lewdly.

Samantha glared at him. " If you mean that piece of pornography, then yes, " she said coolly. " And might I say, it's exactly what I would expect from you. "

Talk about high and mighty! Her precious science geek had cheated on her, and she was lashing out at _him?_ That was women for you!

" I thought you might like to know the trust about your precious scientist, " Peter said. " He's only a man, after all. You shouldn't have been so quick to judge my brother – "

" I'm not excusing Daniel's behaviour, " Samantha said stiffly. " But at least Daniel has something of an excuse, as miserable as it is, for playing around – I wasn't there. That's far more then I can say about your brother. " She thought about the years with John, how she had gone to him willingly and he hadn't been interested. He wouldn't rather have been with one of his whores.

Like Daniel with Ashly. Damn her! Samantha had thought they were friends. Obviously she had been wrong. But she knew she couldn't blame Ashly for this. She hadn't _forced _Daniel to have sex with her.

Peter stared at Samantha. The women was an idiot. At least she wouldn't be going back to Daniel – that was obvious from the look of pride on her face. So his plan had partially worked – if John couldn't have her, then Daniel wouldn't. She had killed his brother, her life would be miserable.

And clearly, she was miserable.

" Cheer up, " he said coldly. " We have a dinner to go to with the Henderson's in two hours. Make sure you're looking your best. " And with that, he left the room.

Samantha had never hated Peter Richmond so much in her life.

She almost hated him as much as she hated Daniel.

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She cancelled her flight, and stayed at the Richmond estate for another week because she had no idea what else to do and it saved her having to think about it. She didn't leave the house except to accompany Peter on one of his social gatherings, until the on-and-off flu she was experiencing got too much for her and she went to see a doctor, expecting to be given some antibiotics to get on with it. After all, the job of a Senator's wife – or widow – was never done.

So she was absolutely floored when the doctor informed her she was pregnant.

She couldn't believe it. She'd thought she couldn't have any more children. Initially, it had been thought that her reasons were mainly physiological – who would want to bring a child with John Richmond into the world? – but as the years went on, it became more and more unlikely that she would ever have another child. She was just too old now.

Or so she had thought. Or so she had told Daniel.

" You must be so pleased, " gushed the Doctor. " It must have been so devastating for you, losing your husband like that. But to find out you're pregnant – "

" How far along am I? " Samantha asked crisply, as if that should matter when she'd been given such a joyous piece of news.

" About two months, " the Doctor said, wondering why it mattered. Samantha was incredibly relieved. Not that it really mattered now, but it meant a lot to her that her baby was Daniel's, not John's.

_It must have been conceived that last night we were together_, Samantha thought wistfully. Their lovemaking had been intense, she wondered if there was anyway that could have been parlayed into a conception.

Not that it mattered now. She had made up her mind she was leaving Daniel, that she was carrying his child for the second time was not going to change it. She felt like she had a second chance, and she wasn't going to ruin its life like she had ruined Jacob's, saddling him with a father like John Richmond.

The next day, she informed Peter she was pregnant.

Not surprisingly, his first question was " Who's is it? "

" Daniel's, " Samantha said without hesitation. The timing could only mean that it was Daniel's child, and for that she was grateful. It meant Peter would have no say in it.

She wasn't really surprised that Peter hit her, but it was still unexpected. She reeled back a few steps, but stood her ground.

" Whore! " Peter screamed at her. He started pacing for a few seconds, thinking about what he would do about this little problem. Obviously, the sentimental cow was not going to have an abortion.

Finally he said, " You're going to act like it's John's. You're going to be delighted, a widow mourning her husband's death who has found a silver lining. " But of course he wasn't going to support either of the bastards posing as his brother's children.

Samantha stared defiantly at Peter. " No, I'm not, " she said assuredly. " I'm going to leave tomorrow, and I'm taking Jake with me. You don't need to worry about me blabbing, I don't care enough about you or your brother to do that. I'm going away, by myself, and I'm going to have nothing more to do with your family. "

" I could sue… " Peter threatened.

" You do that and there goes your Senate aspirations, " Samantha pointed out. " Right now you're cashing in on your brother's name. How much esteem do you think he'll hold if it becomes known that he beat and raped his wife just because he could? This is it, Peter. Checkmate. "

Peter watched his sister-in-law leave the room with dignity and strength. He knew there was nothing he could do, not if he wanted to become a Senator. He was furious with Samantha for her deviance, for not acting as a Richmond wife should, but hell, he'd gotten something out of it – he was no longer the second brother, living in the shadow.

And speaking of older brothers, who the hell remembered Joseph Kennedy Junior these days? And Samantha wouldn't go back to Daniel – she would be faced with twenty years ahead of her as a single mother. No man would be interested with a woman who was pushing forty with two children. Peter grinned maliciously. So he had destroyed her life after a fashion.

" We're leaving, Jake, " Samantha informed her son when he asked why they were packing.

Jacob's eyes lit up. " We're going back to Dad? " he asked.

Samantha's heart broke. _Why, Daniel, why? _she asked herself. Why couldn't he keep it in his pants? Well, what was done was done, and she was leaving the Richmonds so that had to count for something. " Not just yet, " she said evasively. She had no intention of keeping Daniel from his son – or his unborn child – but right now she needed time to herself.

Time to get over Daniel.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six 

Samantha had spent a week wondering where she would go, and she always came back to Colorado. While she couldn't return to the Stargate program, the state had fond memories for her. And the weather was a marked improvement on Washington.

She would be quite happy never to see the town, or the entire state of West Virginia, ever again. But Colorado was the perfect place for her to be by herself and contemplate what she would do with her life.

She wasn't going to keep Daniel away from his son, or his unborn child. She had seen him with Jacob, knew how devastated he still was that he didn't get to see the boy grow up. He had betrayed her, but she wouldn't do that to him again. There was nothing Daniel could do that would deserve that kind of treatment.

But still… her heart ached every time she thought about Daniel's betrayal, and she thought about it a lot. She couldn't help it – she hadn't realised how much Daniel had meant to her until she was forced to look at life without him.

Jacob noticed how unhappy his mother was and figured it had something to do with his father. " When are we going back home? " he asked her daily.

To which Samantha would smile as best as she could – which wasn't very convincingly, even to his nine-year-old eyes – and say, " Soon. "

She would give herself a month on their own, she decided, and then Daniel had to be told. She needed to decide how they would handle this pregnancy, and she needed time to get over Daniel and get used to living without him. She was frightened she would fall back into his arms the minute she saw him.

Oh, God, how badly she wanted to fall back in his arms. She and Daniel should be embracing this pregnancy together, not on opposites sides of the globe. Right now, she was torn between wanting Daniel by her side, playing with her stomach like she was sure he would do, he was such a doting father, and revulsion at having him touch her after betraying her with that woman who pretended to be her friend.

_Daniel_, Samantha thought sorrowfully, tears filling her eyes for the umpteenth time. _Why couldn't you resist a little longer? _

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Daniel hadn't spoken to Samantha in over two weeks. She usually called him, when she was able to, so it took him a while to think about calling her. After two weeks without speaking, Daniel began to grow concerned. He didn't trust Peter Richmond as far as he could throw him, and wouldn't put it past the Congressman to do something to Samantha.

He had the number to the Richmond estate, and he called it, getting a butler who informed him that 'Mrs. Richmond' had taken her son and left the mansion a week ago.

" There must be some mistake, " Daniel insisted. " Sam wouldn't leave without telling me. And she would be back here by now. Is Mr. Richmond available? "

" _Congressman_ Richmond, " the Butler corrected pompously, but transferred him to Peter's private number. Daniel was surprised Peter would have an audience with him ; he wondered if the man had a hidden agenda.

" Mr. Jackson, " Peter said smoothly, knowing it annoyed Daniel to have the 'Doctor' title dropped from his name. It wasn't that he was pretentious, just that he expected to be taken as seriously as a medical doctor. Well, Peter didn't take him seriously at all so saw no reason to call him Doctor Jackson. " How can I help you? " He was as glib as the Senator and President he hoped to be, Daniel thought.

" You can start by telling me where Sam is, " Daniel demanded rudely. He was in no mood to be polite to the man that was depriving him of Samantha and Jacob.

" She left a week ago, " Peter said. " I don't know where she went. " That was one of the few truths he had told in his career. He had seen no reason to interest himself in Samantha's life, so why should he have started with where she was going? All that mattered was that she was gone, taking that phone heir of his brother's with her. The Richmond legacy was all his.

" If has had left, she would have told me, and she would be here by now, " Daniel said through gritted teeth, wishing it was possible to strangle someone thousands of kilometres away through a telephone connection. Peter Richmond was a snake, and Daniel would be glad to see the last of him.

" I'm not surprised that after she witnessed your little performance she'd leave without telling you, " Peter said smugly.

" What are you talking about? What performance? " Daniel asked irritably.

" The one with that gorgeous ex of yours, " Peter answered smugly. " And might I add, you have _excellent _taste in women. What I wouldn't give for a piece of ass like that… "

Daniel's blood went cold. How the hell did Samantha find out about that? " What the hell have you done, Richmond? " he demanded.

Peter laughed softly to hear the rising anger in Daniel's voice. Anger – and fear. He was afraid of losing Samantha. Well, now he knew what it had been like to be his brother. " Let's just say she knows the value of the dollar – well, a hundred thousand of then, anyway. "

For a moment, Daniel could have sworn his heart stopped beating. His throat dried up, and sweat began forming on his face. Ashly would never do such a thing. Richmond had to be lying.

Well, there was one way to find out. He trusted Ashly's words a lot more then he trusted those of Peter Richmond.

Hanging up on the Congressman, Daniel went to find his beautiful subordinate. Their relationship had been professional since their last night together. As promised, she had made no demands on him, but he still felt funny around her. This wasn't like all the previous times they'd been together. He may not have made any promises to Ashly, but he had made one to Samantha, and not having to face Ashly made it a little easier to face himself over his infidelity.

He found her easily enough. She was in her caravan, going over some notes. She looked up at him and smiled. He couldn't help but be aware of how strikingly beautiful she was. He had no desire for her, his guilt was too heavy just at the sight of her, but he imagined what Samantha must have felt, if she _had_ seem them together. Samantha was beautiful to him, far more beautiful then any other woman, but he was man enough to know that she wasn't as physically attractive as Ashly was. He could only imagine how she must feel, to compare herself to Ashly in such a base way.

" Can I help you with anything, Daniel? " she asked politely. He had set the boundaries with his aloof behaviour after their passionate night together, and she had too much pride to challenge them. She had secretly hoped something more might have come of it, but if he was determined to wait for Samantha – there was nothing more she could do about it.

Daniel leaned against the door frame, feeling very embarrassed. " I, uh – I don't know how to say this – it seems – that – Samantha – Samantha – might know about us… " he trailed off helplessly, feeling a combination of embarrassment at having to bring this up and worry that Samantha _did_ know about him and Ashly. She would never understand it had been a one-night things. " I, um, thought you might, um, know something about that. "

Tentatively, he looked Ashly in the eye, expecting to see shock and embarrassment in her face. Instead… _guilt_. Like she _knew_ already. She had been anticipating this day since she had posted the tape. She had known that it would come back to haunt her. When she thought of her mother, getting better now thanks to the Richmond money, she was convinced she had done the right things. But now, with Daniel's searching gaze on her, she was consumed with guilt. And it showed as clearly as if her actions were written on her face.

The truth dawned on Daniel. He had been set up. " You _knew_, " he said accusingly. " You came to me and acted like you wanted me but you only anted – what did he give you? "

" A hundred thousand dollars, " Ashly admitted. There was no point in lying now.

_A hundred thousand dollars_. Peter Richmond was a twisted as his brother if he would pay that much just to turn Samantha again him. For a brief moment Daniel considered the possibility that Richmond was planning to flog the tape on the Internet, then decided the Richmond name meant more to him then petty revenge.

" What was so important to your greedy little heart that you made a deal with the devil? " Daniel asked scathingly of Ashly. He had never thought of her as the type to sell out her integrity, although a hundred grand was a lot of money.

Ashley's entire being stung under the sharpness of Daniel's words. He had loved her as a friend and now he looked at her… with hate. For the part she had played in turning Samantha against him. She had been a fool to think she could ever make him forget her. " I had to, " she said desperately. " My mother was so sick – "

Daniel remembered a few comments Ashly had made about her mother. She had made her health problems out to be minor ones, nothing that couldn't be cured with some R&R. " If you needed money that badly, I would have given it to you, " he spat. " I thought we were friends. "

" We were – we _are_, " Ashley said desperately. " Please, I never meant to – "

In a moment, Daniel was by her side, his strong hands yanking her up out of her chair so she was standing and facing him. She saw the anguish in his eyes as he comprehended how much Samantha must hate him right now. " You never meant to _what? _" he demanded harshly. " You never meant to seduce me? You never meant to take advantage of my loneliness? You never meant to wreck my relationship with Samantha? You know, there's a word for women who take money for sex – they're called prostitutes. "

The word was a slap in the face for Ashly. She wasn't a prostitute! But Daniel's comparison haunted her. She had taken money for sex – albeit not directly – and not for her own use. She hated that Daniel thought so low of her. It wasn't like she had forced him. _He _had wanted it. _Five times_. And if Samantha would leave him over one indiscretion – " If she doesn't understand then she doesn't deserve you, " she said tearfully.

Daniel had never hit a woman in his life but now he struck Ashly's face, hard, reflecting the force of his emotions. He knew he couldn't entirely blame Ashly for the sorry state of affairs, as easy as it was – she had seduced him, not raped him – but his mind was a tumult of emotions and there was only so much he could blame himself for.

And that was a lot of blame. He could only imagine how much it must have upset Samantha – what a slap in the face to their declarations of love before she had left. He wasn't about to forget that she too was to blame for being away so long but he knew that wouldn't do much to mitigate her sense of betrayal.

He had to find her. He had to explain himself. He had to get her, and their son, back. Daniel's heart constricted when he thought about Jacob. He had already missed so much of the boy's life, he wouldn't miss any more of it.

The next day, he informed his sponsors he was taking indefinite leave. There wasn't much they could do about it. He was archaeology's wonder boy, he had found them this site. He was under no contract so all they could do was hope he came back. And that was just fine by Daniel.

Richmond had been no help when he'd said he had no idea where Samantha had gone. Daniel had tried calling Mark, who also had no idea. Mark and Samantha had never been on the best of terms, and her marriage to John had only exacerbated that.

_Damn you_, Daniel thought of Samantha one day when he reached another dead end, another friend who had long ago lost contact and had absolutely no idea where she had gone. She had certainly wanted to disappear – and had taken his son with her. She was doing it all over again. Was this her idea of revenge? He cheated on her, so she took his son away – again? He couldn't have known that Samantha had no intention of keeping Jacob from Daniel indefinitely – just long enough to get over him, if she ever could.

Finally, a month after he started looking for her, he found her through some shady dealings a friend in a credit card pulled for him. When he found it, he kicked himself for not having thought of it before. Of course she'd go to Colorado. It was the last place she'd been truly happy – before Jacob had died, before Jack had died, before she'd married Richmond.

Having located her, he wasted no time in going to see her. The month that had passed had only increased his longing for her, and his irritation. Had she been planning to just walk out of his life, again, taking their son with her, again? He had thought they were past that. Obviously, he had been wrong.

Part of him was relieved when he knocked on the door to be greeted by Jacob. Lord, he had missed the boy. Just when they had been getting close –

" _DADDY! _" Jacob shrieked with undiluted joy. He opened the door and bounded into his father's arms. Daniel embraced the boy in a tight bear hug. " You've been gone do long, " was Jacob's muffled complaint as he buried his head in his father's chest, glad that he was finally back. His mother was so sad without him. She had been sad ever since they'd left Egypt. " I thought you were never going back. " His fingers curled around the back of Daniel's neck, digging into his skin, reminding Daniel of the time Samantha had come to him, fleeing from his husband. He didn't mind now, either. He was happy just to have him son in his arms.

" Course I was coming back, I just had something to deal with, " Daniel said evasively. He was angry at Samantha for separating him and Jacob again, but not ready to lay the blame at her door. " But I'm here now and I'm not letting you go. "

Happy with this answer, Jacob held his father tighter, rubbing his face against Daniel's shirt, basking in his father's scent.

" Where's your mother? " Daniel asked after a few moments of silent father-son bonding.

" Sleeping. She sleeps a lot, " Jacob said. He thought weather or not he should tell his father of his mother's unhappiness, and decided he had nothing to lose. " She cries a lot too. I don't think she wanted to leave. I don't know why she did. "

How did you explain to a nine-year-old the politics of some adults? You couldn't. So Daniel just said, " She had her reasons. How about we let her sleep and we have some time to ourself. "

Jacob's eyes glittered with anticipation. He would like that very much.

An hour later, Samantha was woken up by the noise coming from her living room. She reached for her heavy nightgown and wrapped it around her pyjamaed body. She was so tired lately, more tired then she had been with Jacob. The doctor had said this was normal, part of having a child so late in life (and there were women twenty years older who had children!) but it made her feel so ineffectual.

Automatically she ran her hand down her stomach. She was only three months along, barely showing, but she could see the gentle swelling of her body and it filled her with a mix of happiness and confusion. A month on, the time she'd promised she would let Daniel know where she was, and she was no close to working out what she wanted.

No, she knew what she wanted. She wanted Daniel. But Daniel had cheated on her. And failing that, she had no idea what she wanted to do.

So she was completely floored when she entered her living room and saw Daniel, playing with their son. Her first thought was gratitude that she had thought to put on her nightgown ; the thick folds of the garment hid her bulk.

Daniel stood up when he saw Samantha. She was surprised, that was obvious. She had thought she had disappeared pretty well. She hadn't counted on Daniel's determination to see his son. She wondered if he'd had any determination to see her. She willed herself to stay strong in his presence.

" Surprise, " he said softly. There was a touch of menace to his voice. Samantha cringed. He was jacked off about Jacob.

" How did you find me? " she asked.

" I won't answer that on the grounds I could incriminate myself – and my friends, " Daniel said wryly. " How've you been, Sam? " God, she was beautiful. He wanted to take her in his arms and make love to her all night. After he'd shaken her silly for running off with his son.

" Fine, " Samantha replied. Well, fine enough at any rate. Her pregnancy was progressing as well as could be hoped, apart from the tiredness, and she was getting through each day.

" Jake says you've been sleeping a lot. "

Daniel noticed Samantha's hand drift to her stomach – it seemed to be an instinctive gesture – and his heart constricted. " I've just been… distracted, " she said lamely. Well, it was kind of true. She was distracted with thoughts of Daniel's infidelity and her burgeoning pregnancy.

Daniel turned to his son. " Jake, " he said pleasantly. " Why don't you go play outside? Your mother and I need to talk. " Obediently, Jake went outside, skulking around the side of the house, hoping to hear his parent's conversation.

As soon as he heard the back door click shut, Daniel closed to distance between him and Samantha. Determined not to let Daniel touch her, Samantha took a step backwards for every step he took towards her until he had manoeuvred her against a wall. _Damn him_. When had he learned strategy? She whimpered as she felt his hands on her robe, intoxicated by his closeness.

Parting her robe, Daniel's hands splayed across her abdomen. He knew every inch of her body by heart and knew her abdomen was swollen more then its usual size, even if no-one else but her could tell yet.

She was pregnant.

" Sam… " he growled the obvious question.

" It's your's, Daniel, " Samantha reassured him. " I checked how far along I am. But I can take a test if you don't believe me. "

Daniel refrained from verbally taking up that offer. After all, it wouldn't be the first time Samantha had lied about he paternity of her child. But he was far-sighted enough to know he'd get proof somewhere along the line. Even to look at her now, she couldn't be much more then three months on. She'd have to be closer to five for it to be Richmond's.

The joy that Samantha was carrying his child was tempered by the knowledge she had kept that from him as well as Jacob. " Were you ever going to tell me? " he asked coolly.

Samantha's eyes stung with tears. _He _had cheated on _her_, and _he_ was being accusing? " I had every intention of calling you, " she said stiffly. " And unlike you, I follow through on my intentions. "

There, she'd got him, she thought, a trifle maliciously, when she saw the pain that flashed through his blue eyes. He felt guilty over Ashly, and so he should. " Sam – " he began helplessly.

Samantha ducked away from him. " I don't want to hear your excuses, " she said. " I came here to get away from you. I have no intention of keeping you from your children, but I want as little to do with you as humanly possibly. I want you to leave now. " She glared at him. Blue eyes met blue eyes in a battle of wills.

" I'm sorry about Ashly, OK? It was just one night, I swear. I hadn't seen you in _two months_ and I had no idea when you were coming back. I was drunk and horny and pissed off. _She_ came to _me_, I didn't pursue her. Richmond paid her a hundred grand to seduce me. And I've barely spoken to her since. "

Despite herself and her vows to stay strong in front of Daniel, Samantha found herself crying again. She couldn't stop thinking about him and Ashly together, how young and beautiful she was and how much more in common she had with Daniel –

Immediately Daniel was by her side, drawing her into his arms. She resisted him with all the strength she had, but Daniel held her firmly against him.

" Just… leave me alone… go back to her… I don't care about you! " she flung at him with all the vehemence she could manage through her tears, which wasn't much.

" If you don't care then why are you crying? " Daniel asked her.

" Because you broke my heart. "

Daniel pulled Samantha away from him slightly, tilting her head so she was looking up at him. " And you didn't break mine? " he asked softly, the emotion in his words penetrating to the depths of her soul. He was close to tears himself. " When you called out Jack's name, when you ignored all my attempts to get close to you, when you said you were marrying Richmond, when you married him after the night you spent with me, when you left me to go to Washington – " his voice broke when he recalled all the times he had lost Samantha. " I made one little mistake, Sam. You can't say you don't owe me a few. "

In her heart, Samantha knew Daniel had a point. From a point of reason, she could understand why he'd slipped up one time. If it had been just the knowledge, she probably could have gotten over that. But to be presented with the image of him and Ashly – she began to cry again. " I keep… seeing you with her, " she sobbed brokenly. " And I can't understand why you'd even want me. She's beautiful and young and an archaeologist and – "

" And I love _you_, " Daniel cut in. " Look at me, Sam. " Reluctantly, Samantha met his eyes with hers. " Ashly is – _was_ – just someone I was attracted to. I slipped up once because everything was so messed up and I've regretted it ever since. I don't blame you for being angry. But I'm not going to let you go again – or our children. I'll wait for you to trust me again. But I won't let you go. "

Daniel's declaration of love succeeded in making Samantha burst into a fresh batch of tears. Damn these stupid hormones. But she knew it wasn't the hormones. They were just a handy excuse. " Please, " she cried desperately when she sensed Daniel was about to make another attempt at comforting words. " Just hold me tight. "

They were the words Daniel had been longing to hear. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and let her cry into her chest until gradually her sobs subsided. Then he picked her up and carried her to her bedroom to put her back to sleep. Even if she was in the mood for sex, it wasn't the right time. It wasn't his fault that she'd witnessed such damning images of him with another woman, but all the same she needed time to get over it – time with him by her side, patient, until she was ready.

He stayed with her until she fell asleep and then wandered through the house moodily, coming across Jacob in the kitchen, fixing himself a sandwich. He felt fear rise up in his throat when he thought about the possibility of losing his son and his unborn child.

Jacob looked at him warily. " Is mum sleeping again? " he asked.

Daniel nodded. " Did you know she's going to have a baby? " he asked his son.

Jacob shook his head. " Well, she is, you're going to have a new brother or sister. That's why she's so tired, because the baby takes up so much of her energy. So you and I are going to have to help her out a lot, and after the baby's born too. "

Many nine-year-olds would have been suspicious at the suggestion of more work, but Jacob picked up on the 'you and I'. " So you're staying? For good? " he asked his father.

It broke Daniel's heart to hear the wariness in Jacob's voice. Of course, he hadn't seen his father in three months, and until a few hours ago had probably doubted if he'd ever see him again. But still – well, that would be fixed in time. Like Samantha, Jacob just needed time with Daniel around to feel assured he wouldn't leave again. Although it hadn't been Daniel who had left in the first place – it had been Samantha.

But he couldn't be angry at her for it. He could kind of understand her reasons, even if it had caused him a lot of heartache.

He scooped Jacob up in his arms, sandwich and all. Jacob squirmed with secret happiness about being held with by his father again. " I'm staying here with you and your mother, " he assured his son. " And our new baby. We're going to be a real family. "

Jacob snuggled closer against his father's chest. " I love you, Daddy, " he said.

" I love you too, son. "

The months went by. While Samantha agreed it was best to go back to Egypt (Daniel had reassured her Ashly would be reassigned somewhere else once their sponsors were given the choice of him and her – he hated to do it to her, but she should have known what she was getting herself into) she wanted her child to be born in the United States. She had an ingrained mistrust about Middle Eastern doctors which was wrong, but Daniel decided to humour her.

He loved every moment of her pregnancy. He could amuse himself for hours, playing with his stomach, talking to his child in thirty different languages. It was only fair that since their first child was a maths-and-science whiz, their second would be a genius at history and languages.

Marriage was the obvious next step. Samantha didn't want a big wedding ; just a small ceremony,. She didn't even care that these days she looked like a baby elephant. She just wanted to be married to Daniel.

A few months after that and their baby was born, a perfectly-formed little girl who they agreed to call Janet. It had been a difficult labour but Samantha had gotten through it and when it was all over, she couldn't for the life of her remember the pain – the only thing that was on her mind was her beautiful baby girl. Hers and Daniel's.

Daniel had stayed with her during the labour, and sat with her for hours afterwards, admiring their new daughter. " She's beautiful, isn't she? " he asked.

" Beautiful, " Samantha agreed.

" And so are you, " Daniel added. " I love you, Sam. I never want to be separated from you again. " And he lowered his head to kiss her, knowing that though it had taken eleven years to get here, they were here, and that was all that counted.

FINISHED.


End file.
